I Heart You
by SoraxKairi7
Summary: complete! Kairi finds herself falling for Sora... who knew a popular kid could be so nice? And she never noticed this before? Maybe this was meant... review!
1. The Fight

**Chapter One – The Fight**

_"Get back here!" Kairi laughed as she chased her new rabbit around the backyard. It was a little brown bunny with a diamond shape white spot on her head. Kairi spotted the rabbit chewing on some leaves over in the corner near the fence. She kneeled down and watched._

"I know what I'll call you…" She picked up the animal. "I'll call you Diamond."

"Hey Kairi." Kairi looked up and gasped. It was Sora Kiyamoto. She's had a crush on him since middle school.

"May I come in?" He asked at the gate. Nodding nervously, Kairi got up and unlocked the gate. She set Diamond on the ground and smiled at Sora. Sora had such a sweet smile… and Kairi could fall in love with those blue eyes of his… if she hadn't already…

"Kairi, I've come to tell you… that I really like you." His gaze stuck with hers. Kairi felt like she was going to melt. She didn't know what to say. How could Sora Kiyamoto, captain of the Blitzball Team, even notice her? 

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"Kairi! Get up! It's time for school!" Yelled her mother from the other side of the door. Kairi turned over in her bed. "Aww, do I have to, mom?" She whined. Kairi stared at the wall. "It was… just a dream…"

Kairi sighed and went over to her closet. She pulled out her school uniform and put it on. Fastening the tie around her, she picked up her bag and turned off her light. She lived in a two-story house on the North Island of Destiny Islands. Her school, North Destiny High, was about a ten-minute walk away.

"Not eating breakfast?" Her mom questioned as Kairi reached for the doorknob. "I'll get it at school. If not, I'll be late." Kairi walked out. She looked at her watch; it was almost seven o'clock. School started at seven forty-five. She liked to get there before hand so she could either eat breakfast or chat with the few friends she still had. Kairi had been putting her hair up in a ponytail and braiding it lately. Jewelry wasn't allowed at their school except for class rings and no more than three bracelets on each arm. The socks had to be up to right below the knee and the shoes had to be tied. Any violations of the dress code resulted in suspension.

When she got to school, Kairi headed for the bathroom to check her look and walked out. Many girls did this in the morning; spending all the time in the world trying to be 'perfect,' but Kairi was different. She wanted to look nice, but she didn't want to spend hours and hours doing it. She wasn't too confident about her look, but she didn't have time to worry about it. She usually had loads of homework, which reminded her…

"Oh no!" She shrieked. Kairi rushed into her English class and set her things down. She reached through her bag and searched for her textbook. She had forgotten all about the questions she had to answer about the story they were reading.

Only a few other people were in the room before school started; everyone else was in the hallways, at their lockers, or talking in their little groups. 

Kairi couldn't concentrate. The boy across the room was snoring loudly, and the noise from the hallway made it even worse. The noise from the hallway was unusually loud…

"Fight!" Kairi heard someone yell. She saw a crowd gather just outside the classroom. Overtaken by curiosity, she just had to see what was going on. But then again, she had homework to do. "I guess I can just take a quick peek…"

Kairi was just as unsuccessful as the teachers that were trying to get through and stop the fight. She couldn't see anything, but she could hear a whole lot.

"I'm sick of you, Sora!" Kairi's eyes widened. "You're always making us do everything!"

"Kairi!" A bit shorter brunette girl came up to her, jumping up and down. "What's going on, Selphie?" Kairi asked, moving out of the way so some others can push through. "Sora and Tidus are fighting!" She tried to stand on her tiptoes, but she was too short. "Aww, I wish I could see…"

The crowd "oooed." All the excitement stopped when the principal appeared.

"What is going on here?" The crowd separated to make way for him as he moved gracefully by. "Uh oh…" Kairi whispered. She looked at Sora, who was in full view now. His lip was bleeding. Tidus was laying on the floor glaring at him. The principal blocked them both as he went up to them. Kairi tried to move to a different angle, but the students were in the way.

"Come with me, both of you." He said sternly. He grabbed their arms and trotted off, not even looking back.

Everyone had gone back to their little groups chatting about the fight. "Oh my gosh!" Kairi still hadn't gotten her homework done. She waved goodbye to Selphie and rushed back to her seat. The first bell rang. She had exactly five minutes to get as much done as possible. 

However, she couldn't stop thinking about the look Sora had on his face when the principal was approaching them. He looked concerned… for once. Kairi had always known Sora as the bold, confident type. He was always proud of something, even if it was for the littlest thing.

"Argh… no, no, no!" The second bell rang, which started class. The teacher walked in, carrying a huge binder that she always held. Mrs. Rogers was strict, but also could be very nice. It depended on how the class acted in the first few minutes if it was going to be a good or a bad day. Usually with first period… there were problems…

However, Tidus was in this class, but he was in the fight, so things would probably run smoothly today without him. Tidus was a smartass. It was that simple. Mrs. Rogers and him did not get along, which caused a lot of extra work for the class. Tidus complained about everything. Kairi remembered when Tidus liked her and practically forced her to go out with him. Luckily, Yuna was there. She's his… well, ex-girlfriend. Ever since that incident, they never talked to each other again. Yuna and Kairi were friends now.

Namine, another friend of Kairi's, ran into the classroom. She handed Mrs. Rogers a note anxiously and sat down next to Kairi. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out as if she was meditating.

"Homework goes on my desk, right now." Mrs. Rogers said calmly as she walked to the back of the room where her desk was. Kairi only had three questions out of twenty complete. She crumbled up the paper and went to throw it in the trashcan.

Namine handed her homework in and came to sit back down. Namine always made straight A's in every class.

"What's the matter, Kairi?"

"I didn't finish my homework…" She sighed.

"You knew I would've let you copy mine… if I had gotten here on time." She said worriedly. "I know. I guess I'd better take the consequences though."

The bell rang. Just before Kairi was about to leave, Mrs. Rogers called her over to her desk. Kairi said goodbye to Namine and walked slowly.

"Yes, Mrs. Rogers?" She asked politely.

"I noticed you didn't turn in your homework today. That's the third time this week…" Mrs. Rogers had a concerned look on her face. "Kairi," she paused, "this is your senior year. If you fail this class, you can't graduate." Kairi nodded. "Yes mam, I know." "Get it together." Mrs. Rogers said. Kairi nodded and walked out.

This _was _her last year in High School. Kairi didn't really think about it much. Did she really want to relive her senior year with a bunch of juniors? Did she want to watch her friends graduate while she sat back, still in high school?

"I can't do this. I must get my priorities straight… just five more months…"

It stormed on the way home. Kairi didn't have her umbrella, so she ran.

"Kairi! Wait up!" A boy with shoulder-length silver hair caught up to her. He opened his umbrella and put it over the both of them.

"Thanks, Riku." She was grateful for having him as a friend.

"No problem. So how was your day?" Kairi shrugged. "It was fine."

"Are you going to that Blitzball game against South Destiny High tomorrow? It's going to be sweet!" Riku exclaimed. Kairi wasn't really into bliztball. "What about…" she hesitated, "Sora and Tidus? They're the two best players on the team." She pointed out.

"Oh come on," Riku rolled his eyes. "They still have Wakka. I'm serious, I don't think that guy gets enough credit. He has a killer kick, and can swim really well! Much faster than Sora ever could…" 

Riku and Sora used to be best friends, but at the beginning of their freshmen year, they got into a huge argument. Kairi didn't really know what it was about, but they hadn't talked to each other since then. Riku was smart enough to walk away whenever Sora would talk to his friends about him behind his back and snicker with them, so Kairi didn't think they would get into a fight.

Sora wasn't your typical kind of 'jock' though. He only talked about people he _knew_ or used to know. He was nice to pretty much everyone, but when people got on his bad side, Sora was not to be messed with. However, he hung out with the popular people, so Kairi knew that he would never even think of talking to her.

"Why do you wear your hair like that? It looks better when it's down." Riku mentioned. Kairi shrugged. "I like it this way. Is that a problem?" She glared. Riku raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, don't get pissy on me, now." He laughed. Kairi rolled her eyes. "Well, here's my house. Thanks Riku." He nodded and she walked inside. She was going to make sure to get her homework finished this time…

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**A/N**: Hmmm, I know what you're thinking. "Why is she working on a new story when she's got like a bunch of others to work on?" Oh well! Review, por favor!


	2. Excuse Me

**Chapter Two – Excuse Me**

"And the Blitzball game will be tonight at seven, cost is twenty munny." The intercom went off. Namine turned to Kairi.

"Are you going?" She asked eagerly. Kairi had thought about it, but since Sora wouldn't be there, she didn't know if she wanted to or not…

"I probably will have a lot of homework…" Kairi said sadly.

"Please!" Namine begged. "Selphie and Riku are going!" Kairi sighed. "Okay, okay." She might as well go, she probably would forget about her homework anyway. Kairi leaned back in her chair. Her desk was right in front of the wall. She noticed Tidus sitting in his seat quietly. _"I thought he was suspended…"_ she pondered.

"I'm going to pass out this paper." Said Mrs. Rogers as she handed a set of papers to each row. "These are your semester projects. Have fun." She gave a sarcastic smile. The class groaned. Kairi hated the semester projects. Each teacher was required to give at least one semester project, and it killed her. They were due before exams in May.

"Three essays of our choice? Maybe this won't be too bad…" Namine examined the paper. Kairi rolled her eyes. "_Too bad_? I hate writing essays." Namine didn't say anything to her, but continued to read aloud to herself quietly.

The bell rang. Kairi handed in her class assignment and moved onto the next class. Already it seemed like it was a long day, and it's barely started. She entered the Spanish classroom.

"Hola." Said the Spanish teacher. She was quite young, and all the guys adored her. Kairi actually did well in this class, even though she didn't really like the constant attention the guys gave the teacher. Sora was in this class with her, but he wasn't there today. She guessed the principal suspended him and not Tidus, which was a little strange.

"Tenemos un examen," (**A/N**: 'We have a test,' for those who don't know Spanish) Ms. Martinez placed a test on Kairi's desk. Kairi had forgotten about this test completely. She had a terrible memory. Selphie sat right next to her. She gave her a nervous look. Obviously she didn't study either. Kairi was finished in about twenty-five minutes. Ms. Martinez usually gave them vocabulary for the next chapter right after a test, so Kairi started to work on that.

The next class was Gym. Students at N.D. High were required to have gym for three years. Kairi skipped out on her freshman year so she could take a different class. She had this class with Namine, Wakka, Riku, and Sora too. It was Friday, so they had a free day where they could do whatever they want except for standing around. Right after third period was lunch. Tables were set outside. Destiny Islands didn't have winter, so it was nice year-round. Kairi, Namine, and Selphie usually ate outside unless it was raining. They sat over in a corner away from everyone.

"Kairi, guess what!" Selphie exclaimed. "What?" She asked, looking up. "I have figured out my purpose in this world." Kairi let out a small laugh. Selphie looked at her seriously. "Really!"

Namine had to ignore them and finish up some last minute studying. She would join the conversation occasionally, but only for a moment, and then return to her habits. 

"It occurred to me last night," Selphie began, "that I'm destined to do something great! I'm supposed to set out on this journey, fight crime, and save the world from evil! But…" She held up her left hand as if she was vowing to something, "I have to kill my little sister in the process." Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?" She knew Selphie wasn't really serious, even if she acted it.

"You're crazy." Namine mentioned and then went back to reading a whole chapter. Selphie pretended not to hear her. "Because in this prophet, it tells me that I must kill my sister in order to find true light."

About ten minutes of Selphie's nonstop ranting continued. This amused Kairi. She was just weird like that.

Kairi walked home. The sun was shining, and it was hot. Riku didn't meet her on the way this time; he had to go to band practice. Kairi entered her house.

"Oh, Kairi, I need you to come with me to D-Mart. (**A/N**: Is there one like that? I hope not) Think you can get ready in fifteen minutes?" Asked her mother from the kitchen. "Will we be back before seven? I have to go to a Blitzball game with Namine, Selphie and Riku." Kairi responded. "It shouldn't take that long."

Kairi dropped her backpack down next to her desk and changed out of her school uniform into a pink tank top with matching Capri's. She left her hair in a braid and walked out. After fifteen minutes passed, her and her mom got into the car.

"So why are we going?" Her mom giggled. "I have a date, and I need you to help me pick out something to wear." Kairi let out a big sigh. "Okay."

Kairi didn't know her father, nor did she want to. He left before she was born. Her mother's new boyfriend, Markus, was all right, she guessed. He called every other day, and came over days in between that. He was from Twilight Town.

When they arrived at D-Mart, they went immediately to the clothes section. Kairi saw things she liked, but they weren't here for her.

"How's this?" Her mom held up a green, sleeveless top with a turtleneck. Kairi imagined it. "Blue is better." She said. Her mom picked up the blue one on the rack. "Where's the bathroom?" Kairi asked. Her mom pointed down the isle as she rummaged through the rack. Kairi walked off and got into the bathroom. She shut the door and just stared at herself in the mirror. She didn't need to go, she just wanted to get away from her mother so she didn't have to look at clothes. Kairi wasn't in the mood for searching for pretty outfits to wear on dates.

Kairi hadn't gone on a date for two years. Wakka had asked her on one, they went, and figured they didn't have as much in common as they thought. Plus, Kairi still had a crush on Sora.

She took her ponytail down and unbraided her hair. Kairi looked at herself in the mirror. Her reddish hair was wavy and long. "Ugh, no…" Kairi shook her head and put her hair back into the ponytail. She didn't even bother to braid it.

Grabbing her purse, she opened the door. Her mom was just up the isle, or at least she thought that was where she was. Kairi looked around from the isle. She didn't see her mother anywhere. She hated when this happened. Suddenly she fell to the ground.

"Oh man! I'm sorry, are you okay?" A hand came into view. Kairi was on the floor. She grabbed the hand without looking and stood up. "Thanks," she picked up her purse. She didn't like to make eye contact, but when she saw who it was…

"Um…" Kairi's eyes widened. Sora blinked. There was an awkward silence. Kairi was trembling. She couldn't stop staring at him. Sora raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" He asked. She quickly turned around and ran into the bra section without answering him. Surely he wouldn't dare to follow her…

Taking deep breaths, Kairi looked back out there as she hid. Sora was still standing there, looking completely confused. He eventually shrugged and walked away, giving Kairi a feeling of relief.

"Oh my goodness… I completely embarrassed myself!" Kairi said to herself. "Oh, Kairi! There you are!" Her mother came into view. Kairi gulped. She didn't hear what she just said, right? When her mother held out the blue turtleneck and a long, black skirt, Kairi felt better. She agreed that it would look nice on her and they left.

It was nearing five o'clock when they got home; they had stopped for fast food at Mickey's World on the way. Kairi couldn't stop thinking of Sora and how she completely humiliated herself right in front of him. Why couldn't she just speak to him?

She was hopeless…


	3. The Game

**Chapter Three – The Game**

Kairi took a shower before going to the Blitzball game. Her mom had already left for her date with Markus, so she was stuck with her little brother Koru.

"Kairi! Come here!" He pestered. Kairi was blow-drying her hair in the bathroom. "Wait!" She called over the noise. "No! Hurry!" Koru banged on the door. Kairi was getting angry. Her little brother had no patience whatsoever. She opened the door in rage.

"What do you want?" She beamed. Koru held up a skateboard. "Watch this." He skated down the hall. Kairi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I'm busy." She said.

"No, you've gotta watch!"

Koru was going to be thirteen in May. Kairi couldn't believe it. She thought he was two. Laughing at him when he fell over, she went back into the bathroom and started putting her hair up into a ponytail. Namine was picking her up in about fifteen minutes.

"Koru, I'm leaving." Said Kairi once Namine arrived. Koru rushed into the room. "Where are you going?"

"To a game. Be good." Kairi shut the door before he could say anything. She got into Namine's car and they drove off.

"I can't stand him…" Kairi sighed. Namine stopped at a red light. "He _is _your brother. Anyway, you sounded kind of… weird when you talked to me on the phone. Was something wrong?"

Kairi tried to recall. She didn't _think _she sounded strange… or did she?

"Oh. I…" she paused. She was feeling a little embarrassed. "I ran into Sora at the store. It was by accident. I made a fool out of myself right in front of him." Namine chuckled. "How'd you do that?" Kairi glared. She stopped. "I couldn't say anything. I was paralyzed…"

"Well, I heard he'll be watching the game tonight." Kairi choked. _Sora was going to be there?_

"R-Really?" She stuttered, trying to keep her cool. Namine nodded. They arrived at the stadium. It was in the back of the school.

Kairi never really understood Blitzball. There was a large water bubble that players would swim around in and try to score goals in. That's the way she saw it. They met up with Riku and Selphie sitting up in the top row.

"Hey guys." Kairi and Namine greeted them and sat down. "North versus South… this is going to be awesome! They're like practically rivals!" Riku exclaimed. Obviously he was excited to be here.

Kairi, on the other hand, was trying to look for Sora without the others noticing. She glanced away every now and then, but still didn't see him.

"Hey, look." Selphie pointed. "Tidus is here. See?" Kairi saw Tidus with some of the other people a few rows below them. "And… uh oh…" Sora was sitting down in the row right behind him, a few seats over. Kairi's heart nearly stopped.

"Kairi, are you okay?" Namine asked. Kairi nodded her head and smiled at Namine. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" She sounded guilty and she knew it.

"Thank you everyone for joining us in the match against South Destiny High. Stay in your seats, take some of that pocky going around, and sit tight, because this might just make history, folks!" The South Destiny High students cheered as their team appeared in the giant floating bubble. "Now welcoming, The Southern Kingfishers!"

North and South Destiny High had always tied against each other. Neither of the teams had ever been able to make it past a tie.

"And the moment you've all been waiting for," the announcer said, "The Golden Knights!"

So it wasn't the best name in the world, Kairi thought, but it was school. What did you expect?

The crowed cheered and clapped, as The Golden Knights appeared right across from their opponents. The SD High students booed. Sora was standing up and clapping, as well as Tidus. Kairi remained seated. She saw Wakka out there. He was telling some of his players a few last pointers before the game started, she guessed.

"Let the game… BEGIN!"

"Pocky?" Namine poked Kairi with a strawberry covered stick. "Yay!" Kairi exclaimed, taking it from her. Twenty minutes of the first half passed. There was a tie of 3 to 3. Kairi couldn't understand all of the excitement. All they did was try to swim, pass, and shoot a ball to get a goal. She didn't find this entertaining.

"I'm going to get a snack." Kairi stood up. "You want anything?" She asked the group. "Ooh! I'll have a hotdog!" Selphie said. "Nothing for me, thanks." Namine smiled. Riku seemed to be too into the game to even notice, so Kairi just shrugged and walked off.

It was much quieter outside of the stadium, even though the screams and cheers could still be heard. Kairi went up to the snack counter.

"What can I get for you?" It was a junior that Kairi saw every now and then. "Uh, two hotdogs, and…" She thought for a moment. "Some more strawberry pocky." Kairi got her munny out and paid. As she waited for her change, someone tapped her shoulder.

"Great game, eh?" Kairi froze. Sora was talking to her? _'Okay… breathe, Kairi… breathe…'_ She turned around and smiled. "Oh yeah!" She laughed. He smiled, which made her want to faint. Kairi took her food and waved to him. He nodded and smiled, then turned to order his food.

_'Oh my goodness…' _Kairi could barely breathe. Well, she could breathe just fine, she just was completely out of it. She gave herself a satisfied smile. "He actually talked to me…" After a few moments of daydreaming, she finally snapped out of it.

"Why would he talk to _me_?" Kairi wondered. "I'm just weird."

She sat down with Namine and the others again. Sora had returned to his spot too. The game was four to four. It was halftime. Kairi thought it would never end.

"Hey! Why didn't you get _me_ anything, Kairi?" Riku whined. "You didn't ask!" She laughed. Riku rolled his eyes and continued watching the game. Kairi looked down at Sora. He was cheering his team on. She knew he wished he were out there. Kairi felt sorry for him.

Ten minutes remained in the game. Kairi was starting to get a headache. Namine shook her. "Kairi! We're one point ahead!" Interested for once, Kairi looked up. Wakka had the ball and he was going for it. One of his teammates urged for him to pass it to him, but Wakka didn't seem to hear him. The crowd's eyes were locked on Wakka. If he could score another point, then there would be now way for the other team to catch up.

"GO WAKKA!" Yelled Sora. Tidus was yelling the same thing. The two glared at each other, but Tidus turned back around and continued to root for his friend.

"And the time is up!" Kairi didn't seem to notice that the last ten minutes had passed. The score was six to six; another tie. Kairi sighed. "Maybe next time." Her, Namine, and Selphie headed one way while Riku went to talk with Wakka. When Kairi passed Sora, she saw the he had a pretty disappointed look on his face and was standing up and clapping slowly. She looked away and left the stadium.

Her mother got home around midnight. Kairi was in her room working on homework when her mother opened the door.

"Kairi, shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I have some homework to finish." Kairi didn't look up at her. "All right. But don't be whining in the morning." She closed the door. Kairi closed her textbook and turned on the TV. She sat back on her bed and adjusted her pillow so she could lean her head on it while sitting up. She flipped through the channels. Nothing was on. Kairi turned the TV off and went to sleep.

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**A/N**: Happy New Years everyone!


	4. Fun At The Mall

**Chapter Four – Fun At The Mall**

Kairi was glad that it was the weekend. She slept until eleven, something she hadn't done for a while. The phone rang.

"Hey Selphie." Kairi said wearily after getting out of bed.

"Hey Kairi! Want to come with me to the mall?" The brunette asked eagerly.

"Sure," Kairi responded without really knowing it. She hung up the phone and yawned. After she got a shower, she went downstairs to eat. Selphie ran the doorbell.

"Are you ready?" She jumped up and down.

"Huh? I was eating breakfast…" Kairi raised an eyebrow and let Selphie in. Selphie walked inside and took off her shoes. They went into the kitchen. "You want anything to eat?" Kairi asked as she started to eat her cereal again. Selphie shook her head. "I ate breakfast a while ago."

After Kairi was done eating, she left a note on the table that said she was going to the mall and left. Kairi was the only one of her friends that still was scared to death of driving. It made her feel bad and she didn't like to talk about it. Plus, even if she did know how to drive, she didn't have a car. Her mom would be pissed if she took her car and drove somewhere.

They arrived at the mall. There was a long line at the theater as they walked by. Selphie and Kairi headed straight for the CD shop.

"YUNA's CD!" Kairi squealed, holding up the new single by YUNA. Selphie hugged onto an anime soundtrack she found. "Too bad I don't have money…" she put it back. Kairi had plenty of money. "I'll buy it for you." 

Selphie knew it was pointless to argue, because Kairi was always offering. They walked out happily.

"Hey, Yuffie works in Hot Topic. Let's go visit her!" Selphie skipped into the store. This place scared Kairi sometimes. She was better off at some Bookstore or something. (**A/N**: I have no hatred towards Hot Topic!) However, Yuffie was her friend too.

"ARGH!" Yuffie wasn't in a very good mood. The person at the counter had been going through their wallet for every single cent they could find when they obviously didn't have enough munny to buy it. Selphie and Kairi looked around the store before going to talk with Yuffie, who was about to lose her patience.

"Whoa, I didn't know you guys came in here." They turned around. Riku was looking at them strangely. Kairi shook her head. "Oh no! We're just in here to see Yuffie… but she's a little busy…" She pointed over to Yuffie who was tapping her fingers on the counter. "Is this enough?" They heard the person ask.

"This is why I don't want to get a job." Selphie said. Kairi couldn't agree more.

"Well, look out for the Pac Sun restaurant. Sora just started to work there. I can't stand him…" Riku left. Why did everyone always tell Kairi where Sora was? Were they trying to torture her?

Selphie elbowed Kairi's arm and smirked mischievously. "We should stop by…" Kairi blushed and hit her. "No! I mean…"

"Oh, hey guys." Yuffie appeared in front of them. They waved. "I just got off. Man… I thought that person would never give up!" She cursed under her breath. "Great! How about we all walk around the mall together?" Selphie suggested. "I'd love to…" Yuffie started, "But I have to get home. I left my little sister there all alone and who knows what chaos she's caused. See you later." Yuffie left, and so did Selphie and Kairi. 

"Getting all dreamy about Sora again?" Selphie teased after she noticed there were a few moments of silence between them. "No!" Kairi denied quickly. She saw Sora inside the Pac Sun Restaurant just as they walked by. He was a waiter. "C'mon!" Selphie grabbed her arm and rushed into the restaurant without Kairi's consent. Before Kairi could say anything, Selphie had already ordered a table for two.

"Are you _trying _to torture me?" Kairi asked furiously. Selphie merely smiled. "C'mon, if you don't talk to him, how will he ever notice you?" She had a point, but Kairi didn't want to believe that.

"Selphie… I get goose bumps whenever I talk to him. I don't know what to say!" Kairi tried to explain. "Oh! Waiter!" She waved her hand in the air. "Over here!" Luckily, Sora wasn't their waiter. Instead, it was an older lady.

They ordered their drinks. "You know," Selphie began, "I didn't come in here just for you." She was staring at someone on the other side of the restaurant. "Huh?" Kairi looked over and laughed. "No way, Wakka?" "Isn't he dreamy?" Selphie drooled. "I thought he hated you." Kairi said. "So! It's still nice to look!" Selphie didn't seem to be affected by what Kairi had just said, which was a good thing. Wakka thought Selphie was insane. He always tried to avoid her.

Kairi tried to look out the display window they were next to. She didn't want to make eye contact with Sora. But she couldn't help staring at those gorgeous eyes of his… or that beautiful brown hair that pointed in every direction…

"You have to talk to him." Selphie said. "No! I can't!" Kairi began to shake. Selphie just called Sora's name, and he was coming over to them.

"I wanted to ask you," Kairi was surprised, "how much does the buffet cost?" Sora glanced at Kairi for a moment and then turned back to Selphie. Kairi tried to look away. "It's $5.95 for the buffet." He smiled. Selphie thanked him and he walked off.

"See? Just ask a simple question, and you'll be talking to him!" Selphie exclaimed happily. "You don't have to start a conversation… he's at work. Just say hello." Kairi's legs were shaking. Why was Selphie doing this to her?

About thirty minutes later, they left. Selphie and Kairi got into the car.

"Why are you so afraid of him?" Selphie asked.

Kairi hesitated before saying anything. She wanted to get her words right. "Uh… I don't know." Wow, so much for thinking on that one.

"He's a nice guy." Selphie mentioned.

"And popular." Kairi added, putting her head down.

"Screw popularity. If you like who you are, it doesn't matter how many backstabbing friends that only want to be you that you have."

In a way, that made sense to Kairi, and in a way it didn't. But she understood. They arrived at Kairi's house. Kairi waved to Selphie and went inside. She sat down in the TV room. Koru was watching TV on the couch eating some popcorn. Kairi let out a big sigh.

"What's the matter with you?" Koru asked.

"Nothing."

"Right." He flipped the channel onto some cartoon Kairi didn't care for. Kairi got up and headed for the kitchen.

"Oh, some guy called for you." Kairi immediately thought Riku. She was right. Kairi picked up the phone, but her brother came into the room. "I need the phone." She glared at him and stormed out. It was pointless of him to even tell her that Riku called.

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	5. Bloody Nose

**Chapter Five – Bloody Nose**

"GO AWAY!" Sora screamed at his brother as he slammed the door shut. He fell onto his bed and closed his eyes. As he lay there, he put his hands over his face and sighed. He could hear his stepfather yelling at his older brother from the kitchen downstairs. He turned over and faced the wall.

"Why must every day be like this…" He tried to fall asleep, but his stepfather opened the door.

"What are you doin' getting in trouble at school?" He beamed. Sora pretended he was sleeping, but his stepfather yelled.

"Leave me alone!" Sora pulled the covers over his head and tried to ignore it. He had enough drama already; he didn't need anymore. He heard his door slam once again and loud footsteps stomping down the hall in rage.

The next day, Kairi was at her locker when Namine came up to her. "Guess what!" She exclaimed. Namine wasn't usually the jumpy kind… that was Selphie. "What?"

She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Riku finally told me how he felt about me!" Kairi gasped. "Really? Wow! What did he say?" Namine and Riku secretly liked each other for years. She closed her locker and they proceeded down the hallway. "He said he cares about me very much!" Namine held onto her textbook even tighter. Kairi patted her on the back. "Aww, that's so sweet." They parted ways as Kairi went to Spanish class.

"We will be taking a trip this semester!" Exclaimed Ms. Martinez. The class gasped and started whispering amongst themselves. Sora was back today. He sat in the back of the classroom quietly, drawing a picture.

"Kairi y Sora," Selphie teased. Kairi raised her pencil up and threatened to stab her, but of course she was joking. Selphie did a dramatic, "NO!" and pretended to whine, which made Kairi laugh. Ms. Martinez calmed the class down.

"The French teacher, the German teacher, and I have all decided to take a trip to Europe!" The class was really excited. Kairi sat up in her seat and listened. "But you need a passport and a lot of money." The class groaned. "It will be worth it though! We'll all be going to France, Germany and Spain! These memories will last a lifetime!" Everyone began to talk to people beside them. Kairi noticed Sora wasn't talking to anyone. Usually he would be laughing with the others around him, but this time… he was quiet…

Gym class came, and he was the same way. He was with Wakka. They were kicking a ball back and forth to each other as they waited for the gym teacher to come to class and give instruction. It wasn't a free day; usually Mondays consisted of excessive running outside on the track followed by a stressful activity. The rest of the week was a little easier on them, since the gym teacher was absent half the time.

"Kairi! Heads up!" Bam. Kairi fell onto the ground. Wakka had accidentally hit Kairi in the head with the kickball. Him and Sora rushed over to her and helped her get up. Each of them took one arm and raised her to her feet.

"Who did that?" Asked the gym teacher angrily. Kairi felt the warmth of Sora's hand touching her arm. It was almost unbearable. "Sora, take her to the nurse's office. I need to speak with Wakka…" Kairi felt Wakka's hand let go of her as he walked over to the pissed off gym teacher.

"You okay?" Sora asked, letting go of her and giving her space. Kairi blushed and looked away so he didn't see. She nodded. _'Okay… calm down Kairi… don't screw up this time…'_ She repeated over and over in her head. Kairi looked over at Riku as Sora escorted her out. He was crossing his arms with an angry look on his face. Namine was next to him waving happily. They got out into the hallway. Kairi felt a little dizzy. She almost fell, but Sora caught her.

"You don't look too good…" Kairi shook her head. "I just feel a little dizzy… that's all…" She had gotten this far without screwing up. She loved the caring attitude Sora was giving her. It was like heaven. Maybe she could faint and he would catch her again… no, she could never pull that off. She was way too shy…

"I'm sorry for what happened." Sora said. He wasn't holding onto her anymore, which saddened Kairi. She tried to smile at him. "It's okay. It's funny, if you think about it." Sora laughed a little. "O… okay… heh…" He turned his head. _'Damn it! That was stupid!'_ Kairi thought to herself. She didn't know the nurse's office was so far away from the gym… and she didn't really mind either…

"My name is Sora, in case you didn't know. We have some classes together. You're Kairi, right?" Kairi was surprised. He actually knew her name. "Y-Yes. Kairi. That's me!" He smiled. How could he be so gorgeous?

"You seem to be better now." Sora kept his grin, making Kairi blush even more. This wasn't happening… was it? She had to make sure it wasn't just some silly dream she needed to wake up from. Kairi tripped and fell face-flat onto the floor. It started to bleed.

"Kairi! Are you all right?" Sora asked anxiously. He kneeled down on the floor. "Ah, you're bleeding. C'mon, let's get you to that nurse." Okay, so it wasn't a dream. They arrived at the nurse's office.

Sora waited outside the door for Kairi. She was so grateful for that. Kairi had a bruise where the ball had hit her in the forehead. She didn't want to show it to Sora. There was only one thing she could do. Kairi went into the bathroom that the nurse had inside her office and took her hair down. She combed it out with her fingers and covered the bruise with her side bangs. She was disgusted with herself, but shrugged and went back into the nurse's office. She thanked her and walked out.

Sora didn't say anything when she first came out; he must've been shocked by her hair being down for once. Kairi's face reddened. "Feel better?" He asked after a short, awkward silence. She nodded. They started to walk back to gym class.

_'She's so pretty… if only she kept her hair down more often…'_ Sora shook the thoughts away when Kairi started to speak.

"Thanks for taking me to the nurse's office." She was staring at the floor as they walked. "No problem." Sora responded, looking at the posters the art club hade made for the Valentine's Dance. _'Nah, she would never go with someone like me to a dance… wait, what am I thinking?' _Sora argued with himself. People liked him. However, he just didn't know _why_ they did. Was it because he was the Captain of the Blitzball Team? Did they like him just because he got into a fight with Tidus? Because he was popular? Nobody knew him…

Kairi, on the other hand, was thinking to herself as well. _'I can't believe this is happening! Wait until I tell Selphie that Sora took me to the nurse's office! I should get hit in gym more often…' _She giggled to herself aloud.

"What's so funny?" Sora asked casually. "Nothing." Kairi responded. They entered the gym. Kairi thanked him again. Everyone was in the locker room getting changed… which reminded her that she was still wearing her gym clothes and the bell would ring any minute! No wonder Sora was running off to the boy's locker room! Kairi rushed into the girl's locker room and got changed just after the bell sounded for the next class… lunch!

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**A/N**: Lunch is the best class ever! We learn that cafeteria food cannot be trusted, ne?


	6. Bird Watching

**Chapter Six – Bird Watching**

Classes were starting to get even more difficult as January progressed. Kairi had semester projects she needed to get started on or the end of the year will come so quickly that she wouldn't even know it. However, she just couldn't get her mind off of Sora…

Kairi went over to Namine's for her birthday party that weekend. Selphie, Yuffie, Riku, and even Aerith, an acquaintance of Kairi's was there. Poor Riku; he was surrounded by giggling girls. Wakka and another boy that Kairi didn't know stopped by when they heard them all in the backyard singing Karaoke like a bunch of drunken idiots.

"Come on Kairi!" Selphie threw a mic at her. Kairi almost dropped it. They turned on Selphie's anime CD Kairi bought that day they were at the mall and started to sing. Personally, Kairi didn't think she was good at singing. She thought Selphie and Namine sang beautifully though. Riku joined in their little Karaoke session, making Wakka and the others raise a few eyebrows as the silver-haired boy pretended to 'rock out.' 

"What?" Riku saw everyone staring at him. The music had stopped. He shrugged and gave the mic to Wakka, who passed it back to Namine. Eventually all the guys left and the girls had a sleepover. They crowded into Namine's TV room and watched a scary movie. 

Kairi and Aerith used to be the best of friends. They knew everything about each other. However, over the years, disagreements between them had torn them apart. Aerith had started dating an abusive boyfriend, and Kairi stated over and over again that he didn't love her or else he wouldn't hurt her. However, Aerith never listened and thought he was only doing it out of love. Things were fine now that Aerith left him and was looking for a new love interest—preferably Kairi's next door neighbor, Cloud…

"Hey!" Shouted Selphie once the movie was over. She pulled out a board game. "Let's play Truth!" Kairi dreaded this game. Unfortunately for her though, Namine loved to play it. It was _her _birthday…

"First question goes to… Namine!" Selphie smirked mischievously. Namine put her head down and blushed. Selphie picked up a card. "Namine, have you ever had a crush on one of the teachers?"

Namine shook her head and picked up a card. She looked at the other four. "Yuffie! What was the most embarrassing thing you ever did?"

Yuffie pondered for a moment. "Hmm… probably when I asked my father how much the eighty-cent stamps were…" (**A/N**: I actually did that!) She shrugged. They all laughed. Yuffie asked Selphie the next question. "Selphie, would you ever go out with… Tidus?" She said suddenly. They all gave disgusted looks, including Selphie. "Ew, never!" She chose another card and asked Aerith. "What's your biggest fear?"

"Spiders. I'm scared to death of them." There was a pause. "It's your turn to ask a question, Aerith." "Oh." Aerith laughed and got a card. She looked around at the group. Kairi knew it was coming. She was going to ask her…

"Kairi," She knew it. Namine leaned over to look at the card and giggled. "Who is the one person you've had a crush on?" "OH MY GOSH!" Selphie yelled. "That's so easy!" Yuffie shushed her down. Kairi's face had gone red. Surely Aerith knew already?

"Sora," she mumbled, looking away. She was glad Riku wasn't there, or he would've been pissed. Aerith and Yuffie squealed with delight. _'I guess they didn't know…' _Kairi figured. Namine and Selphie merely laughed.

It was almost midnight. However, none of them were asleep. They were up recording themselves as they acted like the idiots they were. Selphie and Yuffie were singing, "Oops, I killed him again," a parody that Kairi made up a long time ago. Namine, Kairi, and Aerith were dancing in the background. Kairi didn't know how to dance, but she didn't really care. She was with her friends. They always acted like this. She didn't care, and neither did they.

Sora, on the other hand, wasn't having so much fun. He was sitting at home all by himself, flipping through channels.

"I can't sleep…"

His mother left with his stepfather a couple hours before and who knew where his older brother was. He was probably out getting drunk somewhere. Sora couldn't believe that he was twenty and still wasn't at least in college. He couldn't even keep a job for more than a week. He turned the TV off and put his shoes on. Sora grabbed his coat and walked outside. He lived right next to the shore. The full moon made its reflection in the water as Sora sat down on the coast.

"I'm living a double life…" He mumbled to himself.

"OH NO! It's—" Selphie gasped, "KAIRI! And she has come to DESTROY US ALL!" She screamed and fell to the floor. It was hard to Kairi to keep a straight face. They were making up skits. Kairi was the evil person and Selphie was the peasant. "Please don't hurt me!" Selphie pleaded. Kairi needed a pretend weapon. She took the closest thing she could find off the table—a remote.

"Bow down, worthless peasant, before the power of ME!" Selphie actually started crying. (She wasn't serious.) Kairi couldn't help it anymore. She busted out laughing. The others were laughing too as Namine held the camera.

"No!" Selphie pouted. "It was getting good!" She sighed and stood up. "Sorry, you're just a natural born actress. I still don't understand why you can't join Drama Club with Namine and I in February." Kairi laughed. Yuffie, Namine, Aerith, and Selphie all began another skit while Kairi held the camera.

"Who are you?" Asked a bewildered Yuffie. Aerith was walking silently with her eyes closed. "Don't run into a wall." Namine cautioned. Kairi wanted to laugh, but held it in. "I," Aerith began, "am a Sorceress from the planet Uta. I come from afar to seek someone by the name of… Jill." Selphie stood up. "That is I." She said in a serious tone. Aerith pretended to punch her. Namine and Yuffie gasped. Selphie dropped to the floor dramatically.

"Don't you EVER kiss my man again!" Aerith screamed. Selphie looked up. "I'm sorry! He was just so hot!" Aerith did a fake kick and Selphie screamed. Why did Selphie always like to do depressing parts when she was the most jumpy of them all? It was ironic, Kairi thought.

Sora's eyes were closed when someone had come up behind him. It was his mother. She sat down next to him.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked.

"Just thinking. I can't sleep." Sora stared off into the ocean.

"When are you playing Blitzball again?" Sora shrugged. For all he knew, he might as well just quit the team. Tidus was just going to get pissed again.

"A girl named Tifa called for you two times earlier." Sora nodded. She stood up and went inside. Girls always called for Sora. However, he was getting tired of it. He wasn't in middle school anymore. He wanted to find that one person and stay with them. But where to look? All the girls at school either swooned over him or hated him. There was no in between. That's how he saw it.

At school that Monday, Kairi thought it would never end. However, in Ecology class, they were fortunate for such an awesome teacher that brought them outside instead of staying in a classroom and doing bookwork. They were studying birds right now, and he wanted to take them out bird watching. Kairi loved going into the woods. She hated to hear all the preppy girls complain about it though. The other Ecology teacher, Mrs. Kimberly, had also brought her class out. Mr. Vixen and her were rivals. Sora was in that class…

Mr. Vixen took his class one way while Mrs. Kimberly went another. Someone almost fell into a foxhole. Kairi chuckled to herself quietly. It was Tifa. She was a prep. 

"Mr. Vixen! I don't know why you have to bring us out here in this… place!" She beamed. "Because it's beautiful. Why didn't you take Chemistry or something? Didn't you know what you signed up for?" He was calm. "Ecology sounded prettier!" She crossed her arms. A few people laughed, but her glare made them stop. 

"In order to hear birds, we have to be quiet." He took out his binoculars and looked out into the distance. Kairi saw a Carolina Chickadee and pulled her binoculars out quickly. She followed it as it flew around from tree to tree. Kairi was in the back, so nobody noticed that she was heading the other way from them. Kairi didn't notice what she was doing either. The sight of a bird up close was awesome to her. 

Sora's class had also gone bird watching. He looked through the binoculars a few times, but wasn't too interested. He saw what looked like a fox over in the distance. He had to see it better. He rushed and hid behind a rock. A few of his classmates turned around, but didn't realize he was gone, surprisingly. He waited until the class had gone over the hill before sneaking off after that fox. He knew if he stayed too long, he would be skipping, but he had never actually seen one in real life before.

Kairi looked around. She didn't see her class anywhere. The Chickadee had flown away, and Kairi was stuck in the middle of the forest. She tried to call out, but there was nothing. She looked at her watch. Her class had already headed back up to the school! The bell was going to ring in less than five minutes! However, she was lost. She couldn't see the school, or anyone else. "Oh no…" she was freaking out. Would they consider this skipping if she didn't return? Kairi heard some leaves rustling a little more than they should.

Sora had the fox cornered; or so he thought. He took out his cell phone and took a picture of it. The fox started to growl at him. Backing away slowly, Sora tripped and fell over. The fox scurried away.

Kairi saw the fox rush by. "Whoa!" She exclaimed, barely able to believe her eyes. She watched until the animal disappeared. "I have to get back to school!" She sat down on a tree stump and whined. "But I don't know where I am…"

Kairi heard something. The leaves were moving; not by the wind, but by something else. Suddenly a copperhead poked its head out of the leaves and hissed. Kairi screamed and started to run.

Sora heard the scream. Immediately he turned in the direction of where it was coming from. He saw someone coming. Squinting his eyes, he saw that it was Kairi.

Kairi's eyes widened right when she saw Sora standing about fifteen feet from her. She stopped and forgot all about the snake or the fact that she had to get back to school. Kairi was exhausted. Sora came up to her. 

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**A/N**: Cliffie! Don't you just love em?


	7. Lost

**Chapter Seven – Lost **

Kairi's eyes flickered open. She was lying on the forest floor. Birds were chirping happily.

"You faint a lot." She heard someone say. She looked up and saw Sora. He was trying to make a fire for some reason. Kairi sat up and rubbed her forehead. Sora turned and looked at her.

"Do you get much exercise?" He asked. Kairi didn't want to answer that. "What happened?" She said instead.

"When I came up to you, you just fainted." He shrugged and finally gave up on making the fire. Sora reached and pulled a something out of her hair. Her heart skipped a beat. "There was a leaf in your hair." He smiled and sat back. Kairi's face reddened. How did she always end up alone with him?

"I saw a fox, so I started to go after it." He pulled out his cell phone. "Here's a picture." Kairi laughed. "He looks a little angry." Sora shrugged. "Yeah. He kind of scared me and I tripped. So how did you manage to get away from your class?"

"I saw a Carolina Chickadee and I wanted to follow it…" She felt a little weird for saying it. "Isn't that the one with the white and black head?" Kairi nodded. "I love those. They're one of my favorite."

"So how much trouble do you think we'll be in when we are either found or get back to school?" Sora questioned, grinning a little. Kairi didn't want to think about that. She could stay with Sora like this for days if she had to. "I don't know. It would probably be a lot…"

"Yeah. I can't get into any more trouble, I suppose."

The smile had faded from Sora's face. He was staring at the ground. Kairi decided to change the subject.

"I saw a snake. It scared me."

"Oh really? So that was the scream I heard." He laughed. Kairi blushed. "Yeah… it was one of the poisonous ones… I'm not afraid of the non-venomous snakes."

"You really like Ecology, don't you?" He asked.

"Eh…" She paused, "Yeah. I like animals and nature."

"That's cool." He said surprisingly. Sora began to look through his binoculars up into the trees and such.

_'This is so awesome… I don't even care that I'm going to get in so much trouble when we get back to school… he's so…'_ Kairi pondered to herself. She heard the sound of a Killdeer. _Killdeer! _It cawed. Kairi looked around for the bird. It was on the ground looking for food over in the distance. Sora looked over too. "Hey!" He said, making the bird become alarmed and fly off. "Sorry,"

"It's okay." Kairi sighed.

"Are you scared?" Sora asked out of nowhere.

She turned and stared at him. "No… why?"

"Oh." He grinned. "Neither am I." He leaned against the tree behind him. "This reminds me of when I was a kid… when my parents and I would go camping."

"Was it fun?" Kairi asked. She had gone camping a few years ago with her brother for a Scout Trip. It wasn't too exciting because twenty little boys that were about to be nine or ten surrounded her.

"Oh yeah. Back when my dad was alive, everything was great." He sighed and stared into the sky. "Oh… I'm sorry…" Kairi said sympathetically. Sora shrugged. "Yeah… my step dad forbids any sort of camping. He's a bastard. What's worse is that my mother is always on his side."

This sounded strange coming from one of the most popular guys in school. "That must suck. My mother and her new boyfriend are always together. He's okay, I guess."

"Man, I remember when my mom started going out with my stepfather. She was crazy about him. When they got married, everything changed. She found out that he was an alcoholic, and she still hasn't left him. I can't stand him." Kairi wanted to just hug him, but she knew that would be really weird.

"I never even knew my father. You're lucky." Sora gave her a concerned look. "Really? Whoa… I couldn't imagine what life would be like if I never knew my dad."

"Welcome to my life." She shrugged. Kairi was starting to feel crappy. She would cry over the smallest things sometimes. It was quiet.

"Um, you know there's a beetle crawling on your skirt, right?" Sora was watching it. Kairi wasn't in the mood to scream. She flicked it off of her skirt, leaving Sora a little surprised.

"You're the first girl I know that didn't go insane because of a bug. That's pretty cool." He admitted. Kairi suddenly felt a lot better. Sora was complimenting her.

"Why haven't we hung out before?" Sora asked. "I don't know…" Kairi said, not looking at him. She knew he would think her and her friends were just idiots if he saw them, and she was a little embarrassed. Plus, she hung out with Riku. Sora and Riku hated each other. Which reminded her… she just had to know why.

"What happened… with you and Riku?" She asked, hoping not to make him get pissed off at her.

"Oh." He was calm. "He lied to my face." Kairi wanted to ask how, but he answered for her.

"He told me that he didn't like my ex girlfriend at that time, when really he turned his back on me and made out with her at some party." Kairi was shocked. She couldn't believe Riku would do something like that. "Wow…"

"Yeah. I broke up with her and got rid of him at the same time. I don't like liars or cheaters." Sora crossed his arms.

"Sorry for asking about it." Kairi apologized. Sora looked at her. "It's okay." He stood up and held out his hand. "C'mon, let's find our way back to the school. I can't be in any more trouble than I already am." Kairi smiled and took his hand. There was an awkward silence when she got to her feet. They were just standing there. "Um…" Kairi started, trying to break the silence. "Right." Sora turned and started walking off into a random direction. Kairi followed. They moved past branches and vines. She tried to stay as close to him as possible.

Now that Kairi thought about it, Sora was even better than what he showed everyone at school. At school he was in good terms with everyone—well, except for Tidus, but she didn't care about him. He was even better when she started to get to know him. He may have had a few problems, but hey, even the popular people aren't perfect, she thought. He was like a dream come true.

Despite all her wonderful thoughts, Kairi's stomach started to hurt. Maybe she was just hungry, she assumed. She would be eating at lunch right now with Selphie and Namine, but for some reason, she didn't miss it right this moment. However, her stomach ached… worse than it usually did…

"Wait…" She put her hand on a tree and leaned. "Ow…" She used her other hand to hold onto her stomach. "What's wrong, Kairi?" She looked up at Sora, who seemed really anxious. "It hurts…" She whined, and it was. It was almost like a stinging sensation she was getting. This had never happened before. Usually she would be able to handle a stomachache and walking at the same time. Kairi fell onto the ground in pain.

"Kairi!" Sora yelled. He couldn't figure out what was wrong other than the fact she had a really bad stomachache. Kairi was screaming in pain. What was happening? She couldn't even hear Sora. He was becoming even blurrier as she tried to hold tears back, but she just couldn't.

"Kairi… don't worry! I'll get us out of here!" Sora tried to pick her up, but she rolled around too much. Her stomach was killing her. This wasn't normal…

Sora took out his phone. "Damn it! No service!" He tried to find service, but was unsuccessful. Kairi couldn't stop crying. "I need to go to the hospital!" She screamed. Sora didn't know what to do. They were stuck in the middle of the woods… completely lost…

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**A/N**: Ack. Poor Kairi! **Important Note**: I changed the name of this story if you didn't notice. That's what happens when I write a story without planning. –Big grin, nod- Yup, yup.


	8. Surgery

**Chapter Eight – Surgery**

Sora was in the waiting room. Namine, Selphie, and Kairi's mother entered.

"Where's my baby?" Asked her mother frantically at the counter.

"Ah, are you Kairi's mother? She's this way." The nurse took her, Namine, and Selphie to where Kairi was. Sora couldn't go in there. He had already been tortured enough trying to get her out of the woods with her constant screams for help. It reminded him of a dream he had a while back…

In the dream, he was walking along a path in the woods. It was the middle of the night. He hears something coming from his right. Sora finds a little girl weeping under a tree. He goes over to try and help her, but she suddenly disappears. The girl reappears right behind him. She's pointing at him with an angry look on her face. All of a sudden she starts to scream. Sora covers his ears, but even then it couldn't block them away. She was saying, "HELP!" over and over. Another person enters the dream, this one a more shady character. He grabs the girl and rushes off. She struggles to get free, but is unable to do so. Sora tries chasing her, but she was gone.

He never had figured out what that dream meant even until this day. His thoughts were interrupted when Selphie and Namine came back into the room and sat down. They looked a bit disappointed.

"I can't believe they won't let us see Kairi!" Selphie complained.

"I know! That's just wrong!" Namine noticed Sora was looking at them. He looked away.

"What are you doing here?" Selphie asked suspiciously. Sora raised his head back up. "Oh, I'm the one who brought her here." He said in a low tone. The two girls gave him an anxious look. "What happened?" They asked in unison.

"Well, we were both in our Ecology classes and we both coincidently wandered off and got lost. Then we found each other, talked for a bit, etc." Namine and Selphie weren't satisfied. Sora realized he was saying a little too much. "Yeah… so I told her I was going to find a way out of the woods when she said her stomach was hurting. I didn't think it was anything serious… but when she fell to the ground and screamed in pain… yeah…"

Selphie and Namine exchanged worried looks. They knew about Kairi's medical problems.

"Oh no…" Namine said.

The door opened. Yuffie and Riku rushed in, not even noticing Sora.

"We got here as fast as we could!" Yuffie was exhausted.

"Yeah!" Riku saw Sora, who tried not to make eye contact.

"What's _he_ doing here?"

"Riku, this isn't a time for fighting." Yuffie pointed out. "Our friend is in the hospital!" Riku took one last glare at Sora and sat down, crossing his arms. A nurse appeared in the doorway.

"Sora, come with me please." Sora got up and followed her down the hallway, ignoring the glares from the others.

"It seems that one of her intestines managed to get behind a chain of red blood cells… and that blocked everything. It's not normal at all." She said. "Oh man…" The nurse opened the door. Kairi was lying in a bed. The room had a huge widow in the back the overlooked East Destiny Island. This was the closest hospital they could find. Kairi's mom had left the room. Sora sat in a chair next to Kairi's bed.

The nurse checked Kairi's IV and walked out. She opened her eyes.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this…" She couldn't move her hand where the IV was. Sora shook his head. "It's all right…"

"I have to go into surgery in about an hour." She sighed. "Again…" 

"Again?" Sora questioned.

"I'm too tired to tell you now… I hope you understand. I'm sure the nurse told you what happened?" Sora nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry…"

"Don't be." She paused. "Stuff like this always happens to me…"

Sora wanted to ask something else, but he stopped himself. She was in no condition to explain anything. The only time Sora ever had to go to the hospital was when he broke his leg a couple of years ago. He never had surgery before…

"Wow…" He noticed she was crying and trying to smile at the same time. "I didn't think something like this would happen again… I hate being here… and I still don't know why you bother to even… oh Nevermind…" Kairi sniffled.

"To even what? Be here?" Sora was confused. Kairi didn't answer for a moment.

"I'm stupid. I have surgery a lot. I don't have the perfect body, or the perfect look. I'm just not normal at all. My friends and I act like idiots most of the time, and we love it. I don't think you would like me if you knew the real me…"

"Kairi…" Sora started, but was interrupted when Selphie, Namine, Riku, and Yuffie walked in. They rushed over to Kairi's bed.

"Oh Kairi!" Namine was almost in tears.

"Please don't cry…" Kairi choked. Namine turned her head so she couldn't see her. Even Selphie wasn't hyper right now. Riku was standing over in a corner, and Yuffie had taken a seat in a chair nearby.

"Well, I'll be back later…" Sora stood up and walked out without another word. He passed Kairi's mother in the hallway. He glanced at her and kept going.

"So… how long do you think you'll be here?" Asked Selphie worriedly.

"I don't know. Maybe a week, maybe two weeks…" She shut her eyes tightly. The morphine was wearing off. The pain was coming back.

"Kairi! Are you okay?" Namine shouted. Selphie called the nurse.

"She just needs some more medicine." The nurse inserted morphine into the IV. "It's… cold…" Kairi flinched. Two doctors, one that Kairi recognized and another she didn't know of walked into the room carrying clipboards. It was time for Selphie and the others to leave.

"We're about to take her into surgery. We'll let you know when she's out." Her friends left saying things that Kairi didn't really hear. The doctor stood over her.

"How are you feeling right now?" Kairi wanted to say shitty, but it would be rude.

"Not so good…"

"You know how it goes… we'll take you into surgery, we'll put you to sleep, and then you'll be out and back in here in recovery, okay?" Kairi nodded weakly. When she was younger, she had a whole bunch of surgeries for various reasons. Something bad always seemed to happen to her. They moved her onto another bed and took her out in the hallway. She passed Namine, Selphie, Yuffie, Riku, and even Sora on the way down to the Emergency Room. They all had anxious looks on their faces that would probably haunt Kairi's dreams when she was put to sleep.

They entered the surgery room and stopped. Kairi saw a bunch of nurses around her. One sat down next to her.

"We're going to put this mask on you, just breathe into it." Kairi smelt a sweet strawberry scent and started to feel even drowsier. The nurse began to tell a story about some boy band singing at her birthday party with balloons and such, which kind of scared her. She was lucky to be asleep in the next few minutes…  
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**A/N**: Note that these things have happened to me… okay, some of them. I've had surgery a lot. That story the nurse told did scare me. Lol. So no, this wasn't a period like you guys thought! I'm pretty fast at updating because I did a few chapters at a time during the break… but now that the break's over, I don't know if I can be as fast.


	9. Surprise

**Chapter Nine - Surprise**

"Kairi, this letter came for you in the mail." Her mother handed her an envelope. It had been hours since the surgery. She was really tired. Kairi still had an IV attached to her arm, so she tried to be extra careful. It was about 9:30 at night.

"Ah," she grinned, seeing it was from her pen pal, Orett. Orett lived in Twilight Town, a place Kairi had never been before. They started talking online and eventually began writing letters to each other. This one was a card.

_Dear Kairi, _

Oh no! I heard you were in the hospital from your mother. I hope you get better! I'm really worried! I sent you this card… I hope you like it. Are you getting visitors in the hospital? Maybe if I beg my mother enough I could actually come see you! Even though we've never actually met in person, I think it would be pretty nice. How about it?

Get well soon!

Orett

Kairi put the card back into the envelope. Her and Orett had been pen pals for two years. She wasn't in any mood to write her back though, which was understandable because she had just gotten out of surgery. She probably had another two or three scars on her stomach from it, making her feel a lot worse.

Guests weren't allowed to visit the patients after nine o'clock. It was a hospital rule. The nurse came in every hour or two to check the IV and give more medicine if it was needed. Kairi was numb. She had been lying down for hours. It was always like this when she was in the hospital. Her mother was staying with her in the room. She stretched out on the couch and read a book while Kairi tried to see what was on television. It was a children's hospital, so there wasn't a comedy channel. She decided she might as well just go to sleep.

It was a long night. She was awaken a few times by the nurse inserting more medicine into the IV, which eventually made her fall asleep again. The nurse checked her blood pressure at midnight and 2AM as well. She was extremely tired.

The next day was a quiet one. Nobody came to visit her until the afternoon. Kairi forgot that they were all probably at school. Selphie and Namine entered the room carrying their backpacks.

"We decided to do our homework in here if you don't mind." Selphie said. "I don't. I enjoy the company." Kairi smiled. "So how was school?"

"Terrible without you!" Namine answered. "We were worried all day! I couldn't focus on my work!"

"Yeah! I busted out crying in my Math class!" Selphie added. Kairi gave them a faint smile.

"Sora said he was probably going to stop by sometime today or tomorrow." Namine said. "He's pretty worried about you if you ask me." She shrugged and closed her book. Kairi felt herself blush.

"Yeah…" Selphie said dreamily. "It's so cute…"

"Oh come on. Don't tease me now." Kairi laughed a little.

"It's not fair…" Namine started sadly. "We were supposed to go to Yuna's concert tonight… but…"

Kairi forgot all about that. For once in her life she actually had a chance to go to a concert by her favorite singer in the entire world, Yuna. Why did this always have to get in the way…

"Go ahead without me. Please don't skip out on that because of me." Kairi's tone was low. The other two exchanged anxious looks. "But Kairi…"

"Could you do me a favor and bring me a picture of you guys with her? I would really like that." After a long pause, they nodded slowly.

They left about an hour later. Kairi was alone once again in a quiet room. She stared out the window from her bed. The sun was hiding behind the clouds. She could see her island off in the distance. It took about an hour to get there and back. She fell asleep.

---------------------------------------------------

"Kairi," someone whispered, "you awake?"

Kairi's eyes opened slowly. Her vision was blurry. She saw Sora smiling down at her.

"Hi…" She said wearily. He set a rose on her bed. Kairi blushed.

"I hope you feel better," he said calmly. Kairi was nearly speechless. She was also a little embarrassed, since her mother was right there watching the entire thing. Eventually she got the message and walked out of the room, winking at her.

"Ms. Martinez was wondering where you were." Sora began, taking a seat on the couch. "I told her you weren't feeling well…"

"Thanks." Kairi said, staring at the rose. It made her feel special for Sora to have given her something so sweet.

"So…" he paused, "did they… fix the problem?"

Kairi shrugged. "I feel better, but I _am _on medicine right now. I'm guessing they did. I like this hospital. I've come here my entire life."

"That must be terrible." Sora didn't bother asking why. It was her business, not his.

"I'm used to it." Kairi said. She thought for a moment. "So… why did you come here?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing. Can't I do that?" He tried to not sound rude.

"Yes, you can. I was just wondering why, of all people, you would come to see me. I think we've talked about this before… I don't remember…"

Sora stood up and walked over to her bed. "You're a pretty cool person, no matter how you look at it." There was a pause. "I enjoy spending time with you."

Kairi didn't know what to say. She knew he saw her face redden.

"Yeah… I—" Sora was interrupted by the door suddenly busting open. Selphie and Namine came in happily, while Yuffie stood at the door.

"Kairi!" Exclaimed Selphie. "We knew you couldn't come to the concert with us… so…"

"We brought the concert to you!" Namine said happily. Kairi and Sora were confused. Yuffie moved out of the way. Kairi gasped.

"Y-Yuna?"

Sure enough, it was Yuna. She had light brown hair and was wearing a beautiful blue outfit with a lot of ruffles. She held a mic in her hand and smiled. Kairi was speechless. She wanted to cry. No one had ever done this for her before…

"Hello, Kairi." Yuna greeted. Her voice was tender and calm. If Kairi had the energy, she would be up and screaming right now. A few people crowded outside of the door, including Kairi's mother, who merely crossed her arms and smiled.

"I'm going to sing you a song, is that okay?" Yuna asked, immediately receiving Kairi's approval. Namine, Selphie, and Yuffie went to the other side of the room next to a very shocked Sora and took pictures. Kairi was in tears of joy.

Yuna turned on a radio that Yuffie had carried into the room. She started to sing.

_I know that you're hiding things  
Using gentle words to shelter me  
Your words were like a dream  
But dreams could never fool me  
Not that easily… _

I acted so distant then  
Didn't say goodbye before you left…  
But I was listening  
You'll fight your battles far from me  
Far too easily

Save your tears 'cause I'll come back  
I could hear that you whispered as you walked through that door  
But still I swore  
To hide the pain when I turned back the pages  
Shouting might've been the answer  
What if I cried my eyes out and begged you not to depart…  
But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart…

'Cause 1000 words  
Call out through the ages  
They'll fly to you  
Even though I can't see  
I know they're reaching you  
Suspended on silver wings…

Oh 1000 words  
1000 embraces  
Will cradle you  
Making all of your weary days seem far away  
They'll hold you forever…

After the song was over, Kairi was crying so much. She had forgotten about the pain completely. Namine and Selphie were close to tears too, and Yuffie was sniffling. Sora was smiling widely and looking at Kairi. This was definitely a dream come true…

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**A/N**: Aww! I think in a way that song can deal with Sora and Kairi… hehe!


	10. I Promise

**Chapter Ten – I Promise**

Kairi was finally released from the hospital about a week later. All the excitement from actually seeing Yuna had made her so exhausted that day that she actually fell asleep before Selphie, Namine, Yuffie, and Sora left. However, her side where she had surgery was still hurting.

Her and her mother walked into the door. Kairi's house felt like it was a little different since she hadn't been there in a week, but it was still the same. "We're home!" her mother called.

"Hi." Koru said from the other room. Obviously he was on the phone, because he didn't come to greet his sister that had been in the hospital for a week. However, Kairi's older brother Taka, came into the room.

Taka was going on nineteen. He was in college, and wasn't home much. Kairi had another brother named Kyon, but he was twenty-five and lived in Twilight Town. Coincidence?

Kairi walked with a limp all the way to her room. To her surprise, someone had cleaned it while she was gone. She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing, depending on who it was. They might've found some personal things… like her diary or where she kept her money. Kairi checked all those places and saw that they were in the same spot as they were before she left. All her textbooks were on her desk with a sheet of paper from Namine next to them. She had tons of makeup work.

Kairi returned to school two days later. Her side still hurt from time to time, but not as much. People were giving her attention that day everywhere she went.

"Kairi! I heard you were in the hospital! Are you okay?" said a girl from her English class. Kairi nodded and smiled. Namine walked into the room and hugged her. "You're back!" She squealed. Ms. Rogers was excited to see her too. Everyone was being nice to Kairi… and noticing her too.

In second period, Sora came up to her and greeted her. He was glad to have her back too. Some people in the class were clueless as to where she was, and Kairi wanted it to stay that way. Unfortunately, Selphie was in here, and she was one hyper chick…

"KAIRI!" She clang to her. "I'm so glad you're feeling better! Did that hospital treat you well? Did it?" The class had their eyes on Kairi. Her face reddened and she nodded. "I'm fine, Selphie… please get off of me…"

"I'm sorry!" She sat down in her own seat.

Ms. Martinez entered the room and called roll. "Ah, Kairi! Welcome back!" She said and moved on. "We're doing a group assignment today. I'm going to split you up…"

Kairi was in a group with Selphie, some guy named Gerald who was the class clown, and a girl named Faye. They questioned her.

"Where were you?" Faye asked worriedly.

"I was sick." Kairi halfway lied.

Selphie didn't say anything about it. She just told them that they need to start their work. Kairi couldn't agree more… she still had a bunch of math work to finish.

In gym class, Sora stayed behind everyone else and ran with Kairi. Kairi was still trying to recover from her surgery, but also wanted to challenge herself and run. She could deal with a _little_ pain, right?

"So," Sora said in between breaths, "Felling better?"

"Yeah… my side just hurts a little."

"Maybe you shouldn't run so much. You'll wear yourself out." He said worriedly. Kairi blushed. "I'll be fine."

After finishing her laps in ten minutes, which wasn't bad because her normal record was about seven in a half minutes, she sat out for the rest of the period. Her teacher allowed it. She watched as the rest of them played flag football.

Lunch came and went. Soon the school day was over. Sora offered to walk her home, even though he lived in the completely opposite direction.

"I can go through the woods here." Sora pointed out as they walked. Kairi smiled at him and put her hands behind her back.

"So I guess everyone was really nice to you today, huh?"

Kairi nodded. "Yeah. I was surprised they actually noticed I was gone." She shrugged.

"Of course they did. In Spanish class, people were asking _me _where you were." Kairi looked up at him. "Really? That's weird." There was a prolonged silence.

"So… why are you so shy?" Sora wasn't looking at her.

"I don't know." Kairi responded. "I just am."

"I remember when I used to be shy. It was back in Elementary and Middle school." Kairi was shocked. Sora was shy?

"I didn't think I fit in with the other kids. Of course, Riku was my only friend back then. Tidus and I were acquaintances. Then High School came around… and everyone changed… including me."

"Obviously," Kairi laughed. Sora smiled. "Yeah." There was a pause. "You see, when my mother got a divorce… I wanted to run away.My fatherjust… left.A couple months later I heard that he had died in a car accident...and now I'm stuck with a bastard."

"Oh…" Kairi said sadly. They arrived at her house. "Well… this is it. Thanks for walking me home."

"No problem." Sora grinned and waved as Kairi went inside. He then turned around and started walking back to his house.

Along the way, Sora was talking to himself. "Man… I can't believe she can't tell yet." He was talking louder than he realized. "If only Kairi knew how much I really liked her…"

"Oh my gosh!" Exclaimed someone. Sora turned around. His eyes widened. It was Selphie.

"Aww!" She jumped up and down. "You really _do _like her!" Sora tried to calm her down. "No! Please! You can't tell her!" Selphie glared at him. "And why not? She's my best friend!"

"I know! Just… please… she can't know yet…" Sora pleaded. Selphie eyed him mysteriously. "Ah… afraid, are we?" She elbowed him teasingly. "Sora has a crush… Sora has a crush…" Sora's face went red. "Just please don't tell her… I beg of you…" Selphie started to whine. "But…"

"Please Selphie… promise me you won't tell Kairi that I like her." He was serious. Selphie took a while to answer, and then nodded. "I promise. I won't tell her a thing."

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**A/N**: Yay for Chapter Ten! Is Selphie wrong? Why doesn't Sora want Kairi to know? Hmm… found out in the next couple of chapters! W00!


	11. Crazy Frenchness

**Chapter Eleven – Crazy Frenchness**

February seemed to just fly by. Kairi still thought it was October of last year. However, her birthday was in two weeks. Drama Club had started a week ago, and Kairi didn't have a really big part in it, which she was thankful for because she didn't have to memorize as many lines or get stage fright. Rehearsal was every day after school.

Kairi's friend Jenna, a pretty girl with short blonde hair and an extraordinary acting talent, was trying to get everyone in their places and settle them down. She was very serious about this play… especially with what happened with last semester's play. They did a Christmas play, and it was terrible. People forgot their lines, there were silent parts, and the audience was confused. Overall, it was boring.

"Now you guys _know _what happened with the last play… and it will _not _happen this time." She said, holding out a clipboard to call roll. Kairi and Namine stood next to each other.

"Michael!" Jenna yelled. "Listen!" Michael was very popular. He joked around a lot and loved to dance. He even created his own dance. Sometimes he didn't know when to be serious… which was a problem for the entire Drama Club.

Bryan, a guy with longish red hair and blue eyes calmed everyone down, making Jenna feel a little better. He started to speak.

"Everyone has to memorize their lines by March 18th…" He pulled out a paper. "Mrs. P wants us to do a lot better this time, and so do I. Please you guys… please, memorize your lines and let's be serious about this…" Everyone nodded and went backstage.

"So Kairi, who are you in the play?" Kairi rolled her eyes. Kazuya always flirted with her. Actually… he flirted with everyone. He came up and put his arm around her.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"I wanted to know who you were in the play."

"I'm Kelly, okay?" Kairi went over to Namine, who just sat and watched. Namine had a huge part in the play, but not as big as Jenna's part.

"Bothering you again?" Namine whispered. Kairi nodded and sat down. They had a couch backstage. Namine held up the script and tried to recite her lines from memory. Kairi only had four lines that she had memorized already.

After rehearsal, Namine dropped Kairi off at her house. She went into the kitchen and searched for some food. The house was dark and she was all by herself. Who knew where her brothers were, or even her mom. Kairi got a glass of water and walked into the TV room. There was usually nothing on. She checked the caller ID to see if anyone had called.

"Yuffie called…" Kairi picked up the phone and dialed Yuffie's number.

"Hey Kairi!" Yuffie greeted. "I tried calling earlier."

"I know. How are you?"

"Good. I was wondering if you wanted to go to my chorus concert tomorrow…" Yuffie asked. "Sure." Kairi said happily. She liked how Yuffie sang.

"Well, that's all I wanted to ask… my little sister is bugging me, I've gotta go. Ja!" They hung up. Kairi went upstairs, got online for a while, and then went to bed.

Ms. Martinez was absent the next day, and there wasn't any sub, so a different teacher split them all up into different classrooms on that hallway. Kairi and Selphie went to the French class.

The French teacher, Mr. Boivert, was explaining something in French when they walked in with a few other students. Sora had to go to the German class across the hallway. He told them to sit down and resumed what he was talking about. Kairi sat behind Yuffie and Selphie sat next to her.

"Bonjour," he wrote something on the board that Kairi didn't understand. She could never get the French accent right no matter how hard she tried. Selphie took out a notebook and starting writing random things on it.

"I'm an assassin." She showed it to Kairi, who raised an eyebrow. Selphie took it back and wrote something else. "Blood!" Kairi wanted to laugh.

Selphie scared her. She wrote, "There are skeletons prancing around the room kissing all the guys on their cheeks…" Yuffie saw this and said, "What the…?" They laughed.

"Is something funny?" Mr. Boivert turned around. They all shook their heads. Mr. Boivert saw a boy sleeping on the other side of the room. He walked over to him. The rest of the class watched.

"I know when you're sleeping…" Mr. Boivert said, "I know when you're awake… I will haunt you in your dreams…" The class was confused. "Just like Freddie!" Yuffie blurted out happily.

"Yeah!" Agreed another boy. "Mr. Boivert, you _do _look like Freddie!"

"We're going to get you a red and black striped sweater for Christmas!" Yelled another girl. The class laughed. "With a matching hat!" Yuffie was close to tears.

"Do you have a friend named Jason?" Selphie asked randomly.

"HOW MEAN!" Mr. Boivert yelled, stomping to his desk. Everyone laughed. "French is crazy…" Kairi said, trying to hold back laughter.

"I think he spent too much time in France…" Selphie giggled.

In gym, Kairi was so glad it was Friday. Sora and Wakka offered her and Namine to play some soccer with them. Riku wasn't at school today. Kairi hadn't played soccer for about a year, but still knew how to play. Namine was in goal, which was a surprise, considering she was scared to death of the ball.

"Don't kick too hard!" Namine panicked as Wakka tried to score, but Kairi stole it and kicked it in the goal past Namine. "Whoa!" Namine said, picking it up and throwing it out. It was Kairi and Sora against Wakka, since Wakka thought he could beat anybody and everybody. She passed it to Sora, but Wakka took the ball.

It was almost time for class to end. They were winning, and Wakka was one point behind. He was pretty angry when he lost, but Kairi figured he'd get over it.

"How long have you been playing soccer?" Sora asked as they went back inside. "I played when I was younger… and then I played for a year on the school soccer team."

"The one that never won? No offense…" Kairi shrugged. "Yeah. But it's just fun to play. I don't care too much about winning."

"That's cool." Sora said, waving to her to go and get changed.

At lunch, Namine actually didn't have anything to study for once. Selphie was messing with her iPod, and Kairi just ate a cheeseburger quietly.

"Could I have one of your fries?" Selphie asked. Kairi nodded and she took it. But Selphie didn't eat it, instead she tried to make it stand up straight. Kairi raised an eyebrow and started sipping some chocolate milk. The French fry fell over. Selphie whined and put it back up again.

"It's gay." She said randomly.

Kairi busted out laughing. She covered her mouth just in time so that she didn't spit all over Namine. She didn't know why it was so funny, but Namine and Selphie were cracking up too. Milk came out of her nose. After she was able to breathe again, she asked one of them to get her a napkin. Namine gladly did so.

"What was so funny?" Selphie asked. "I don't know…" Kairi blew her nose. She had laughed until she was in tears, and people thought she was crying.

"Namine, you're lucky I didn't spit it all over you." Namine moved back some and they laughed.

"ANYWAY," Namine started, trying to change the subject, "Are you guys going to Yuffie's concert tonight?" Kairi nodded. "Yeah. I am."

"I am too!" Selphie exclaimed. There was a pause. She looked at Kairi mischievously. "Hey Kairi… you should invite Sora…" Kairi blushed. "What? No way!" She refused.

"I thought you two were friends now." Namine said.

"Yeah… but… I think it'd be a little… weird…"

Selphie laughed. "No it wouldn't!" She covered her mouth. "I mean… I just think you should. Heh…" She drank her soda. Kairi eyed her suspiciously. "Um…" She shrugged. "Nah. I'm too shy."

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**A/N**: -chants- Selphie knows something she doesn't… Selphie knows something she doesn't… w00!


	12. Can You Keep A Secret?

**Chapter Twelve – Can You Keep A Secret?**

Yuffie's chorus concert was a blast. Kairi thought Yuffie did an awesome solo at the end. The audience clapped and cheered as the singers moved offstage.

"Yuffie, you were awesome!" Kairi exclaimed, hugging her. Yuffie gave a guilty smile. "Thanks. I was pretty nervous…"

"Well, you did great!" Selphie and Namine said in unison.

"Hey, we're all going over to CiCi's for the after party… wanna go?" Yuffie asked. Kairi, Selphie, and Namine all shrugged and accepted. "Sure, we can go in my car." Namine said happily.

Kairi didn't get home until almost eleven. She told her mother where she had been and went upstairs to her room. Koru walked in a few minutes later.

"What do you want?" Kairi asked, sighing. She fell onto her bed. Koru sat in her desk chair. He was acting a little weird. He stared at the floor.

"Uh…"

Kairi looked at him strangely. Something was wrong.

"Promise you won't tell mom?" He started, not looking at her.

"What are you talking about? Won't tell her what?" Kairi sat up.

There was a pause. Koru sighed.

"I was at the skate park with my friends… and there were these older kids. They looked to be about your age. They were smoking some cigarettes and one of them started to mess with me. They teased me and said I was too much of a chicken to smoke a cigarette, and that really made me angry… so I did. Unfortunately, they cracked up after I did it and ran off somewhere."

Kairi was shocked. Her little brother smoked!

"But I'll never do it again! Just please do not tell mom!" He begged.

"You realize that was stupid of you, right? You realize those boys were assholes who have nothing better to do?"

"I do now…" He looked at the floor. "I just wanted to be cool…"

Kairi figured yelling at him wouldn't accomplish anything. He was going to be a teenager soon. Imagine how high school would be for him!

"It's not cool to smoke." Kairi said simply. She laid back down. Koru left the room. Kairi couldn't believe it. How could he be such an idiot?

"I guess I'll never understand those wanting to be popular… but then again…" She turned over and stared at the wall.

Sora was walking home when he ran into Riku. The two glared at each other.

"What are you doing out here?" Riku asked, irritated.

"Same question to you." Sora knew Riku wouldn't be out here around midnight unless he had seen him and wanted to bug him.

"What do you want?" Sora asked. Riku didn't say anything at first.

"Forgiveness."

Sora shook his head. Did he hear him right?

"What?"

Riku put his hands in his pockets. "I thought about what happened between us. I was wrong for taking your ex. I couldn't really control myself. I figured that girls weren't as important as friendship."

Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing. It had been almost four years and _now _he comes back and wants to be friends again?

"You're scaring me." Sora said bluntly as he started to walk off.

"I'm sorry." Riku apologized. Sora stopped and faced him.

"Don't you think it's a little weird?" He asked after a long pause. "For you to be coming back after four years and asking _me _for forgiveness for something I thought we clearly stated that we would never be friends again?" Sora crossed his arms.

"But Sora… think about it. Before High School… we were best friends. I… guess I miss that…"

Sora wondered if this was some kind of trick or something, but he couldn't think of what Riku would do if it was.

"I'll think about it." Sora walked off, leaving Riku there.

_'What does he want from me? This is weird…'_

Kairi woke up the next morning at the sudden sound of something crashing downstairs. She hurried out of bed to see what it was. Koru had knocked a lamp over and broken it. He held up his skateboard and gave a guilty smile.

"Koru! Mom's going to be pissed!" Kairi beamed. Koru started to pick up the little pieces as Kairi got the trash can and went back upstairs to bed. Kairi slept for another hour or so and then figured she might as well go and eat breakfast.

Meanwhile, Selphie had spent the night at Namine's house the night before. They were eating breakfast.

"Riku told me this morning he tried to talk with Sora last night." Namine said.

"Really? Did he try to kill him? Because then Kairi would've—"

"No!" Namine laughed. "He just tried to be his friend again… that's all. I guess he realized what he had done wrong."

"Namine… can I tell you something about Sora?"

Namine looked up. "Hmm?"

"But you can't tell anyone… especially Kairi or Riku." Selphie said. Namine hesitated, and then promised.

"Sora likes Kairi."

Namine dropped her spoon.

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**A/N**: Hehe, of course Selphie couldn't keep it! I'm working on these chapters ahead of time so that's why I'm updating like every day… I already have Chapter thirteen finished. –smile-


	13. Birthday

**Chapter Thirteen - Birthday**

It was Kairi's birthday. She didn't want much for it; just a game and a few CDs, and possibly a sleepover. Unfortunately, there was school on her birthday…

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Namine blurted out once Kairi walked into English class. "Thanks…" Kairi sat down. That class seemed to go by quicker than usual.

In Spanish class, Selphie was the same exact way. Sora heard this and went over to talk to her.

"Happy birthday, Kairi." He smiled. Kairi blushed. Selphie sat back and watched. Her and Sora exchanged looks a few times. Ms. Martinez started class.

"As you all know, we will be taking this trip during spring break, which is in exactly two weeks. Raise your hands if you're going to go." Kairi, Selphie, and Sora raised their hands, along with a few others. It had taken Kairi forever to beg her mother if she could go, but her mother finally gave in.

"Great. I will let you know about any further details. Now is there anything you would like to review or learn how to say before we go to Spain?" 

At lunch, it took Selphie a little bit longer to sit down at their table than usual. She was talking to Sora over in the lunch line, trying to hide herself.

"I think you should take Kairi out somewhere tonight. I mean, it _is _her birthday." She whispered to him. Sora blushed. "Yeah… but…"

"Oh come on! I thought you were the outgoing one!" Selphie said.

It was strange to see those two together, but Selphie could tell Kairi anytime she wanted to if Sora didn't do what she told him to. It was almost like blackmail…

"You don't understand, Selphie…" Sora tried to explain, but Selphie wouldn't listen. Selphie was the type to go after things, not just sit around and let them come to her, especially if they never would do it anyway. At least she tried.

"Come on, Sora. You could make her eighteenth birthday so much better!"

"So you want me to just take her to the beach and see what happens from there?"

"A kiss on the cheek would be a nice present… or even on the lips." Selphie smirked, making Sora's face go red.

"I don't get it. I've never been afraid of talking to girls before… but with Kairi… it's different…"

"Aww!" Selphie squealed. "Well, just visit her or something. I promise you, you will be satisfied!" Selphie ran off, leaving Sora with a decision to make.

"I… guess I will…" He said to himself.

Selphie felt like she was telling too much information, so she waved goodbye and went outside to sit at the table with Kairi and Namine.

"That took forever." Namine said as she sat down.

"Long line!" Selphie laughed.

"Where's your food?" Kairi asked, noticing Selphie didn't have a tray with her. Selphie looked down and laughed again. "I'm not hungry!"

"Then why were you in the line?" Namine and Kairi were confused. Selphie shrugged. "I was talking to a friend, that's all."

"Okay. That's all you had to say." Namine opened a book and started to read. 

"So Kairi, what are you going to do for your birthday?" Selphie questioned.

"Well," Kairi started, "Probably just have a dinner of my choice, open some presents, and go to bed. The usual. I want to have a sleepover tomorrow… you both are invited, of course!" She smiled.

Selphie was quiet for a moment. "So you're not going anywhere tonight?"

Kairi looked at her strangely and shook her head. "No. Probably not…" 

"Okay." Selphie grinned and took one of Namine's fries, but Namine didn't seem to notice.

"What are you studying for this time?" Selphie asked.

"AP History." Namine answered. Selphie rolled her eyes. "Close the book. It's Kairi's birthday! Besides, we have to sing to her!"

Kairi's eyes widened. "Here? No!"

"Why not?" Selphie asked.

"Fine… go ahead…"

After lunch, Kairi headed off to Ecology. All they did was take notes. Math class was boring too, but then there was some relief- she was able to go home for the day.

"Happy birthday!" Her mother shouted right when Kairi walked into the door. Markus was here too. "Thanks." Kairi headed into the kitchen. 

Kairi was playing her new video game. She opened her presents early because her mother and Markus had to go somewhere. They said it was very important. Taka and Koru were downstairs watching TV.

"Kairi!" Taka called from downstairs, "Someone's here to see you!"

"Who would be here?" Kairi paused her game and went downstairs. She met Taka at the bottom, and he moved out of the way. Kairi gasped when she opened the door.

"S-Sora… hi…"

Sora smiled nervously at her. Kairi went outside with him. It was getting dark. 

"Want to hang out?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head. How could Kairi refuse?

"I'll be right back!" She ran inside to get her purse.

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**A/N**: CLIFFIE!


	14. Ruined

**Chapter Fourteen – Ruined**

Kairi couldn't believe it. Sora was here… on her birthday… at her door. She checked her ponytail before rushing back downstairs.

"I'll be back later!" She called to her brothers, who hadn't moved from the couch. Sora turned around and smiled when Kairi opened the door. He wore a red T-shirt with baggy black pants. Kairi wasn't too dressed up… she didn't even know he was coming. She was wearing a blue tank top with a long skirt that went past her knees.

"So… what do you want to do?" Sora asked. Kairi shrugged.

"Well, I figured maybe we could… go to the beach or something…"

"Sure!" Kairi said happily. Sora and her went over to his car. He opened the door for Kairi and she got in. This was like a date… yet it wasn't. Sora got in and started to drive.

"So how's your birthday been so far?" He asked.

"It's all right. I got a new game and a few CDs… just like I wanted." Kairi shrugged. 

"Awesome." Sora said as they arrived at the beach. They got out. Kairi was stupid enough to not let him open the door for her, but she just forgot. The sun was setting. They started to walk along the beach. It was quiet for a few minutes. Water brushed up against the shore and back into the ocean. The moon was out. Kairi's heart was beating fast. It was just like her dreams. They decided to sit in the sand a little ways away from the shore.

_'He's so… awesome…' _Kairi thought to herself.

_'What to talk about…' _Sora was also pondering to himself.

"So how's life?" Kairi asked randomly.

"It's… all right." Sora grinned. His smile made her weak.

_'Come on Sora… ask her out…' _Sora didn't know why it was so difficult to talk to Kairi. He was always smooth with the ladies and always got them falling for him, but Kairi was completely different. For once he wasn't sure if…

Kairi on the other hand, was starting to get curious. Did Sora really like her? She continued to deny it. He was just a friend. That's all he thought of her.

"Um… so do you like video games?" She questioned, trying to start a conversation and break the awkward silence.

"Yeah. I play fighting games."

"Me too!" Kairi exclaimed. "Or RPGs."

"So do I!"

They both laughed. Sora picked up one of those shells you could listen to.

"You could hear the ocean… even though we're right next to it." He shrugged and handed the shell to Kairi. She gladly took it and started to listen. It was hard to hear with the waves from the ocean, but she could hear a little bit. They made eye contact, but looked away quickly. Kairi blushed.

_'I hope he didn't see that…'_

"So I hope you don't think this is… weird or anything…" Sora said.

"Oh no! This is fun!" Kairi laughed nervously. She really was having a great time, but she just didn't like the long periods of silence they were having. It kind of scared her.

Sora had so many things going through his mind at once. (**A/N**: Nothing perverted…) He didn't know if he should ask her out… or even do what Selphie suggested… kiss her. He kind of wanted to, but something just kept holding him back. He wasn't usually like this. Sora thought Kairi would've noticed that he liked her by now…

That was it. He had to tell her.

"Um… Kairi…" He turned to face her. Kairi looked at him. Her reddish eyes glowed in the moonlight, making it harder on Sora.

_'She's so beautiful… argh…'_

"What is it, Sora?" Kairi blinked. He was staring straight into her eyes. She started to shake a little. Even though she liked it, she was really nervous. What if it was something bad?

"Uh…" Sora couldn't find the words to say. _'No… I can't…'_ What was he afraid of? He had to change the subject.

"Want to… go to that fair over on West Destiny Island?"

"Uh, I'd have to call my mom. I don't think she'd want me to leave the island…"

"No, Nevermind. I think there's an arcade somewhere around here, isn't there?" Sora asked. Kairi nodded. "Yeah… down the street." She laughed a little, which made Sora feel a little better. They both agreed to go and got back into Sora's car.

Kairi wanted to ask him what that was all about back there… with the staring… and the sudden change. She decided not to.

"I'm sorry if I'm ruining your birthday." Sora said as he drove.

"No! You're not! How would you do that?"

"I don't know." He said. _'I'm not being honest with her… that's why…'_

"Again, I'm having fun. I like hanging out with you. I was really surprised when you came to my door…" Kairi stopped. She was too afraid to say anymore than that. She wanted to say that she wanted to spend every day with him. She wanted to say that she had the biggest crush on him since middle school. She wanted to tell him everything… but she just couldn't. They were completely different. He was popular, and she was just a strange girl with a strange circle of friends that everyone thought was insane. Sora would never be able to…

"Here we are. I'll get the door for you." He smiled as he got out and walked around to the other side. Taking her hand when she stood up, Kairi's face reddened. They let go. Sora put his hands in his pockets while Kairi crossed her arms. They went inside. It wasn't too crowded, but there were still a good amount of people there. Sora bought some tokens and they went over to a car racing game and challenged each other. Sora won three times and Kairi only beat him twice. Then Sora jammed to DDR while Kairi sat back and watched. She had never tried DDR before, but she liked the music on it. After that, Kairi beat him in the basketball shooting game.

"Man," Sora took a deep breath, "You beat me _again_. You're pretty good." Kairi giggled. She liked beating Sora in games.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Sora asked, pointing to the food court. Kairi nodded and they went over to it. He bought some chicken nuggets, fries, and all the other good stuff that could be fattening that we loved so much. Kairi felt kind of bad that he was spending more than ten dollars on her in one day, but decided not to argue.

It was going on eight thirty. Kairi couldn't believe she had been hanging out with Sora for over two hours and didn't even notice it. He didn't seem to notice either. They returned back to Sora's car.

"Uh, Kairi…"

Sora was going through his little inner conflict again. He had to tell her tonight. There was no way out of it.

"Yeah?" She sipped her soda that she brought with her.

Sora stopped the car and parked over in what seemed like an abandoned parking lot. He let out a big sigh and sat back in his chair, looking over at her with the same aqua blue eyes that stared at her before.

"I… need to tell you something…"

Before Sora could say anything though, there was a knock on his window.

"Sora? What are you doing here?" It was Tifa.

_'What the Hell? Why would she be here?" _Sora rolled his window down.

"I tried calling you at least five times. How come you never returned any of my calls? And who's that?" She tried to look in and see Kairi, who looked away. 

"She's my friend… and I've been busy."

"Look, Sora. I still love you, and I'm not going to let that girl get in the way. You are mine."

"Correction," Sora said, "I _used _to be yours. I don't want to talk about this. Leave us alone."

Kairi remembered a year back when she used to see Sora and Tifa together all the time. Of course, she was jealous, but right now she just wanted to kick the shit out of her.

"Don't get _smart _with _me_, Sora." Tifa demanded.

Sora started his car and tried to roll up his window, but Tifa stuck her hand through and grabbed his shirt. He didn't want to smash her hand… even though he thought about doing it. Kairi got out of the car.

"Kairi! What are you doing?" Sora called after her. Kairi stood right in front of Tifa.

"Leave him alone!" She commanded. Tifa looked at her and started laughing. Sora got his key and got out of the car.

"I can do whatever I want to him." Tifa pulled Sora closer and kissed him. Sora immediately pushed away. Suddenly Kairi wasn't thinking. She tackled Tifa to the ground and punched her in the face three times.

"Whoa!" Sora yelled out in amazement. After about ten seconds of watching Tifa getting hit, Sora pulled Kairi off of her. However, Tifa was really pissed now. She pushed Kairi into a wall and punched her in the face as well. Kairi tried to get Tifa off of her, but her grip was too strong.

"Bitch! I will make you pay for what you did!" Kairi was knocked to the ground. Sora tried to break up the fight, but wasn't successful. Tifa pulled Kairi's hair. Her ponytail had fallen out. Kairi had a bloody nose. Tifa's lip was bleeding. This was the first time Kairi had ever been in a fight.

Riku was walking along when he heard some screams. Immediately he rushed to the scene. He saw Sora, and Kairi and Tifa going at it on the ground. Him and Sora nodded at each other and pulled the two girls away from one another. Riku held onto Tifa with all his might as Kairi glared and cursed at her.

"STOP THIS!" Sora screamed. Everyone was silent. Tifa broke out of Riku's grip and started to walk away.

"You will pay, bitch!" She called.

Kairi was about to break down and cry. She never planned on getting into any fights. She felt like a failure. She had stooped to Tifa's level. Tears rolled down her checks as she fell to the ground. Sora and Riku kneeled down on each side of her.

"Kairi… don't cry…" Sora pulled out a Kleenex and tried to wipe the blood off of her face. Riku patted her back. For once, Sora and Riku didn't even care that they were working together.

"I shouldn't have done it… I'm sorry…" She sobbed. Sora hugged her. Kairi wrapped her arms around him. She still felt like crap, even if Sora was holding her.

"This was the worst birthday ever…"

-------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N**: Sad ending! Aww!


	15. Day Off

**Chapter Fifteen – Day Off**

"YOU DIDN'T KISS HER?" Selphie yelled at Sora, bringing attention to them both. Luckily Kairi wasn't anywhere in sight; in fact, she didn't even come to school. Tifa was absent as well, which made it a little easier on Sora.

"I'm sorry, Selphie! I wanted to, I really did!"

Selphie tapped her foot up and down impatiently.

"You didn't do it though!"

"Wait!" Sora said quickly, "Let me tell you what happened. Kairi and Tifa got in a fight."

Selphie was shocked. Why didn't Kairi tell her this?

"WHAT?"

Sora tried to calm the brunette down. Everyone was looking at them and trying to listen to what they were saying. With that, Sora and Selphie went to the other side of the cafeteria where everyone was out of earshot and told Selphie what happened the night before and why he was about to tell her but couldn't. Riku came over and sat down with them. Sora didn't show any signs of resentment towards him.

"Wow… that's unbelievable…" Selphie said quietly, staring out the window. It was raining outside.

"So…" Sora paused and glanced at Riku, then back to Selphie, "That's why I couldn't tell her how I felt."

"Who? What?" Sora knew Riku would ask.

"I like Kairi." Sora said to him. Riku's eyes widened. "Is there a problem with that?"

It took a little longer for Riku to answer than was expected, but he finally shook his head and looked in another direction.

"Riku, are you going on that trip to Europe?" Selphie asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. I'm like the only person in my German class who can go. In all there are about ten actual German students going to Germany…"

"I'm going to stick by you the whole time!" Selphie joked.

Kairi was home alone. She had been lying in bed all morning. Her mother asked what happened and Kairi decided to tell the truth, so her mother let her stay home. She went downstairs into the rabbit room on the deck. Bunny and Diamond, her two rabbits, were lying peacefully over in the corner of the room. They rose to their feet once Kairi entered.

She took them into the backyard. Bunny was a lot bigger than Diamond, but Kairi could still hold them both at once. She made sure there was no way for them to chew through the fence or anything and set them down. She sat down in the grass and watched them. Her dog, Scruffy, came outside as well. The three animals got along great. Kairi pet Diamond or Bunny every time they were in reach. She's had these rabbits for almost five years now.

"Hey Kairi!" A blonde boy's head popped over the fence. Kairi went over to greet him.

"Hi Cloud."

"Skipping school, are we?" He looked at her suspiciously. Kairi shook her head.

"Not really."

"Good thing I already graduated then." He said proudly.

"Oh, sorry. You were so short I seem to have forgotten." Kairi joked. Cloud glared at her and then shrugged. (**A/N**: I know Cloud isn't short, but in this story, he is)

"Anyway, I haven't seen you in a while and you live right next door. Where have you been?" Cloud asked.

"Either inside doing homework or at school." Kairi answered. She looked over at Diamond, who was getting into the garden and chewing on the plants. Kairi rushed over and picked Diamond up, carrying her over to the fence.

"Aww," he tried to reach over and pet the little brown rabbit. Kairi put Diamond down.

"So I just bought this awesome katana I've been saving up for… it's awesome!" Cloud exclaimed.

"What would you do with a katana?" Kairi asked, perplexed.

"Train, duh." Right after Cloud said that, he fell over. Kairi laughed as he got back up.

"You didn't see that! Damn stool…"

Ten minutes later, Kairi took Diamond and Bunny inside and put them back in their big cage. She decided to play some video games until her little brother got home.

Spring break was just around the corner. In fact, it was in about three days. Kairi would be leaving for Europe! She couldn't wait to go. Not to mention Sora would be there too. Maybe she could finally have the chance to build up enough courage and tell him her feelings towards him...

"No… I could never do that…" She didn't realize she was speaking aloud.

The phone rang. Kairi noticed it was about three o'clock.

"Hey Selphie!" Kairi answered happily.

"KAIRI! YOU GOT IN A FIGHT?"

"Eh," Kairi was a little thrown off, "Yeah… how did you know?"

"Sora told me all about it!"

A little surprised that Selphie and Sora were actually talking, Kairi didn't say anything. Once Selphie noticed the silence, she started to speak again.

"I just can't believe it! And the way Sora held you when you were crying… didn't that cheer you up the least bit?"

"Uh… yeah… a little. What did he say?" Kairi was curious.

"He said he was… holding you when you were crying." She said simply. Selphie mumbled something, but Kairi didn't understand. "Huh?"

"Nothing! Hey, I've gotta go. You'll be at school tomorrow, right?" Selphie asked.

"Yeah…"

"Okay, bye!" She hung up the phone.

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**A/N**: Muwah. Yet another chapter finished! Now off to work on chapter 16 and make some smores with the KH cast!

**Sora**: YAY!

**Kairi**: Marshmallows… -drools-


	16. Bienvenidos!

**A/N**: I might as well put this chapter up...

**Chapter Sixteen – Bienvenidos!**

Spring break came, and with that came one of the best vacations Kairi's ever had. They were on the plane to Spain. Germany was all right… even though Kairi and the others had no idea what anyone was saying. Riku tried to flirt with almost every girl he saw as a joke, but was slapped every single time. Namine didn't seem to mind, even if she liked him. She was laughing when those girls would slap him across the face.

Selphie was asleep, and for once it was quiet. Kairi pulled out her CD player and started listening to her Yuna CD. She remembered back in the hospital when Yuna came to visit her. That was probably one of the best days of her life.

Sora was sitting with Wakka up front. Kairi could see his pointy brown hair sticking up. They talked some when they were in Germany, but not too much. Riku sat in front of Kairi. His CD player was way too loud, but of course he didn't seem to notice. Namine was reading a book next to him and leaning her head on his shoulder. Kairi was sitting next to Yuffie, who was munching on an apple. Mrs. Martinez was speaking in Spanish to her husband right behind them.

"We're here!"

Kairi opened her eyes. Everyone was standing in the aisle in a long line waiting to get out. Yuffie shook her.

"Kairi! Wake up! We made it!"

Kairi put her CD player in her suitcase and got off with everyone else. There were tons of people at the airport. Kairi, Namine, Selphie, and Yuffie all held onto each other so none of them would get lost. Mrs. Martinez rounded everyone up.

"Now you all know the rules for being here." She began. "No rudeness, violence, and please, please act like you have some sense!"

A few people laughed. Mrs. Martinez rolled her eyes.

"And the number one rule: NEVER go off somewhere on your own. You will be sent back home immediately. Understood?" Once she got approval from the class, they walked in a single-file line out of the airport.

They were split up into groups of ten each and guided by a lady named Senora Teresa. She always spoke in Spanish first, and then translated to English.

"And this is from the 17th century…"

Kairi loved this place. Monuments, museums, and huge Catholic churches were everywhere. She was in a group with Selphie, Sora, and Namine. Sora stuck with them.

"Having fun, Kairi?" He asked.

"Yes! This place is awesome!" She jumped up and down. Sora laughed. Kairi was so hyper right now. She wasn't really paying attention to the tourist guide.

Sora wasn't paying attention either. He kept his eyes fixed on Kairi and laughed with her when she would do something strange. He was surprising himself…

They all ate at a Spanish restaurant that night. Mrs. Martinez met up with them with her group of students. Yuffie was among these and immediately rushed over to the table Kairi, Selphie, Namine, and Sora was sitting.

"All this Spanish is giving me a headache… I can't wait until we go to France!" She exclaimed, taking a seat next to Sora.

"That should be fun." Sora added, glancing at Kairi. Kairi looked away quickly.

Selphie was mixing ketchup, mashed potatoes, some food Kairi didn't know of, mustard, and everything else together. Everyone watched as she did this. After about two minutes, Selphie finally noticed they were all looking at her.

"What? I'm bored!" She stabbed it with a straw. "Tada!"

Kairi shared a room with Namine and Selphie at the hotel. The hotel was huge. It had a pool on three different floors, along with an arcade. There were two pools outside. Kairi, Selphie, and Namine decided to go swimming along with a couple of other students. Mrs. Martinez allowed them to do so.

"WEE!" Selphie jumped right into the water, splashing everyone else around. A few other people that were staying at the hotel looked at her strangely and swam off to the other side as Kairi and Namine entered the pool area. Kairi was wearing a one-piece, and Namine had a towel wrapped around her as if she was a little embarrassed. Riku joined them.

"Come on, Namine! Don't be shy!" Riku called from the water. Namine blushed and held onto the towel tighter.

"You're not naked, I hope." Selphie added.

"No! Of course not! Ew!"

Kairi got into the water. It was surprisingly warm.

Namine finally took the towel off to reveal a beautiful purple bikini. A couple Spanish guys that passed stared and said random things. Riku was speechless.

"Is it too revealing?" Namine asked shyly as she got into the water. Riku wrapped his arms around her.

"Not at all…"

Sora walked in with Wakka and a few other guys. Kairi immediately looked away. She didn't want him to see her blushing at his shirtless appearance. Selphie splashed Kairi on purpose.

"I'll race you!" She floated on her back. Kairi started to laugh. Kairi was a very fast swimmer, so she accepted Selphie's little _challenge_. They swam to one side of the pool. Namine and Riku went over there too, but just to watch.

"Go!" Namine shouted. The two took off. Selphie gave herself a little push on the wall, so she was ahead for the first few seconds. However, she still couldn't beat Kairi.

Kairi made it to the other side and back and won the race. Selphie was about to pass out.

"Damn it!" Selphie pouted. Kairi laughed. "Maybe next time, Selphie…"

They stayed in Spain for another two days. It was finally time to leave…

"Aww! I want to stay here and ride that bull again!" Selphie whined.

"You never rode the bull." Namine pointed out. Her and Riku seemed to be a lot closer since they came on this trip together. They were practically inseparable.

"So!" Selphie jumped up and down and crossed her arms in disappointment. Kairi looked over at Sora, who was talking with Wakka and a few other guys. He looked over at her, and then back to his friends. Kairi blushed and got on the plane.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N**: Okay, so I've never been to any of these countries… sue me! Lol.

**Kairi**: Then get some money and GO!

**Me**: Ahem. If I lived in a video game and I could go around and kill things to get money, I would, okay?

**Sora**: I do that all the time!

**Me**: SILENCE!


	17. Bienvenue vers la France!

**A/N**: Since i'm done with this chapter too... might as well!

**Chapter Seventeen - Bienvenue vers la France !**

When Kairi and the gang arrived in France, they were amazed. Mr. Boivert was kissing the ground—literally.

"What's the matter with him?" Yuffie raised an eyebrow as she watched her teacher roll around happily. He didn't seem to notice that everyone was staring at him. Mr. Boivert said something in French and rounded everyone up as he went back to his normal self.

"Oh… sorry…" Sora had accidentally bumped into Kairi. He put his hand on her shoulder as he apologized, and then walked on. Kairi's face reddened. Selphie eyed her teasingly.

The streets of France weren't too crowded; if you excluded the entire German, Spanish, and French classes. They split up again. Of course, Kairi wanted to stay with her friends, but also wanted to stay near the French teacher so he could translate. This time it was just Namine in her group along with some other people she didn't talk to. Her and Namine stuck close together.

"Look up ahead, students! There is the lovely… Eiffel Tower!" Mr. Boivert pointed. Kairi looked up and gasped.

"Wow…"

She had never seen any structure so beautiful. Namine was pretty surprised too.

"I wish Riku was here…" She said aloud, not realizing it. Kairi thought of what it would be like with Sora there with her.

"Nah… it won't happen…"

"Huh?" Namine asked.

"Nothing!" Kairi gave a guilty smile and continued to stare at the Eiffel Tower.

"So who wants to go up the Eiffel Tower?" Asked Mr. Boivert. A few students raised their hands eagerly. Kairi was afraid of heights, but Namine made her do it. They entered an elevator with Mr. Boivert.

"100 feet… 200 feet…" He rubbed his hands together.

"Are you nervous?" Namine asked. He immediately shook his head.

"Not nervous… but excited!"

Once they got out, Kairi almost screamed. She was so high up it wasn't even funny. She clang onto Namine.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Kairi!" Namine giggled. Other students were taking pictures. Kairi could see all of Paris from here, or so she thought. It wasn't that bad, if you took out the fact that she was really high in the air…

They spent a couple more hours touring around the shops and fancy cuisines. It was starting to get dark. They all went to the hotel and met up with Selphie and Yuffie.

"My feet hurt!" Namine complained.

"Mine too…" Kairi said, but they weren't as bad as Namine's.

"WHAT? There's no pool?" They heard Wakka say. They all groaned at the thought and followed Mrs. Martinez up to their rooms. Luckily, Kairi got in a room with Selphie, Namine, and this time Yuffie too.

"Kairi!" Namine and Selphie were at the window. It was nighttime. They could see the Eiffel Tower from their room lighting up.

"Wow! It's even prettier at night!" Kairi rushed over. She wished she could get a picture, but her camera sucked. If only she could get a closer look…

"Hey! I'll be back…" Kairi grabbed her jacket and one of the keys to the room.

"Kairi! Where are you going?" Selphie asked worriedly.

"I'm going to get a better picture!"

"Wait!" Yuffie exclaimed, "Wouldn't you get sent home if you're caught?"

"See, that's the thing. I _won't _get caught." She smiled mischievously and put her hood on. Who would be able to recognize her? Plus it was eleven 'o clock at night. Everyone was sleeping.

"I'm coming with you!" Selphie grabbed her jacket as well, but Kairi refused. "No, I'll be fine. Leave the door opened, will you?"

Kairi looked out in the hallway before proceeding. It was completely empty. She went over to the elevator and waited. It was a good thing the elevator was around the corner so that nobody could see her leaving. She had her camera in her purse. She wanted to get a great picture of the Eiffel Tower at nighttime.

She was a little scared about leaving the hotel without an escort or anyone, but she couldn't help it. Even if she was sent home, this whole trip was almost over anyway. They had one more day left in France, and then they would be back on the plane to Destiny Islands. Kairi came out on the first floor and headed for the door. The people at the counter were too busy to notice anyone leaving, but they probably wouldn't have cared either way.

The Eiffel Tower was just little ways away from the hotel. The streets were nearly empty except for a few passing cars. Kairi saw the bridge that led up to the Tower. She got out her camera, but accidentally dropped it.

"Oh no!" She leaned down to pick it up. "Great." She said sarcastically. "It's broken. Now I came here for no reason…"

"Kairi?"

Kairi's heart skipped a beat. She recognized that voice…

"Sora! What… are you doing out here?"

"I saw you leaving. I… wanted to make sure you were all right, I guess." He came closer to her. They both started to walk along the bridge. The light from the Eiffel Tower glowed in the sky.

"My camera broke… and all I wanted was a picture of the Eiffel Tower at night…" She stared at the ground sadly. Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out a much more advanced camera.

"I can get you a picture… if you want."

"Really?" Kairi said in amazement. He nodded and smiled. Sora took a few steps back and took at least two pictures. They turned out great. They saw someone on the top of the tower. He was saying something in French.

"JE SAUTERAI!"

Kairi shrugged and went over to the edge of the bridge and leaned over. The river was even glowing from the light of the tower.

"It's so beautiful… I wish Destiny Islands had something as wonderful as this…" Kairi was going into a dreamy state.

"It does." Sora said. She looked up at him.

"Huh?"

"It may not be a _something_, but there sure is _someone _who is as wonderful… and beautiful…" He gazed into the sky. Kairi was silent. What did he mean? She couldn't think of anything. Sora turned to face her.

"Kairi? There's something I've been meaning to tell you…" He was looking into her eyes again.

_"There can't be any interruptions this time…' _Sora thought to himself. He closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again. Kairi was staring strangely at him. "Eh…"

"JE SAUTERAI DE LA TOUR EIFFEL!" Yelled the man.

"ARGH!" Sora yelled. "SHUT UP!"

Right when Sora turned back around, he pulled Kairi into a kiss. A little freaked out, she was tempted to push away at first. However, she liked it. She closed her eyes and kissed him back.

_'This has to be a dream… this has to be a dream…' _She repeated in her head over and over again, but it wasn't. She was practically making out with Sora in front of the Eiffel Tower! Her stomach twisted. Her heart was beating ten times faster. Sora had his hand on her cheek. His other hand reached for her ponytail and pulled it down. He drew her closer to him as one hand gently massaged her back and he ran his other hand through her long, soft reddish hair.

After what seemed like forever, they finally parted away from each other. Kairi was too speechless to say anything, and Sora was just trying to find the words to say.

"Sorry." He said randomly. Kairi laughed. It was kind of funny that all he could think of to say was sorry, but she kept that to herself. It was cute.

"It's okay…" She hugged him tightly. He hugged back and leaned his head on hers.

"Can I ask you something?" Sora said in a low tone. Kairi nodded.

"Yeah."

"Would you be my girlfriend, Kairi?"

Kairi was shocked. This night just kept getting better and better. She looked into his eyes and smiled. She wanted to cry, but she held back her tears.

"Yes, Sora… yes…"

"AU REVOIR MONDE CRUEL!" (**A/N**: So sue me if i'm wrong)

They heard a splash in the water. Immediately realizing that it must've been that man, Kairi gasped.

"OH MY GOSH! HE JUST COMMITED SUICIDE!"

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**A/N**: DUN DUN DUN! For those of you wondering about what the French man said, he said "I will jump from the Eiffel Tower!" and "GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD!" Thanks to TK for asking the French teacher. :D


	18. Time To Leave

**Chapter Eighteen – Time To Leave**

The next day, which was their last day in France and on the entire trip, Mr. Boivert took them for one last walk around the block. Kairi and Sora were lucky enough to not get caught and made it back to the hotel safely. However, Kairi had a nightmare of the suicidal guy, which made her shudder every time she thought about it. She never wanted to see something like that happen again.

Besides, she was happy now. Her and Sora were finally going out. Last night was great. (Except for the fact that guy killed himself) Right now though, her and Sora were holding hands as they followed the French teacher around the city streets.

"ABOUT TIME!" Selphie yelled.

Sora rubbed the back of his head and laughed. Kairi only held on tighter to him. Namine and Riku were behind them holding hands as well. Sora looked at a sign on some random shop.

"I wonder what's in here…"

"Um… Sora… we shouldn't get lost…" Kairi told him. She looked at Mr. Boivert and saw that he had stopped to talk with the tourist guide, so she went with Sora into the store.

"Don't worry, Kairi. It's probably just a souvenir shop." His eyes widened. It wasn't a souvenir shop. They rushed out of there and met Yuffie outside.

"Why were you guys going into that adult store? Can't you read the sign?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I can't read French!" Sora yelled. Kairi giggled.

After a long day in the hot sun, it was finally time to head back to the hotel. Kairi kissed Sora goodnight and went inside the room. She fell onto her bed with a deep sigh.

"He's so wonderful…" She said dreamily.

"It's about time he asked you out. I've been telling him to do it forever." Selphie covered her mouth immediately. Namine looked in another direction.

"What?" Kairi sat up. "You knew?"

Selphie nodded. "I kind of… overheard it… a while ago…"

Kairi's eyes widened. "What?" She looked over at Namine, who nodded as well. She couldn't believe this. Her best friends in the world had kept this from her?

"But think, Kairi! I'm the one who actually gave Sora the courage to go see you on your birthday!" Selphie added. Kairi guessed that she couldn't complain. She was sure Selphie had a good reason.

"Sora begged for me not to tell you. There wasn't much I could do." Selphie explained. Kairi lay back down. It didn't matter. She was happy now.

Sora was lying in his bed when Wakka came in the room carrying a pack of cigarettes.

"Want some?" He asked. Sora shook his head.

"Not now. I'm too happy... heh..."

"Wow, you've never turned down a cigarette before. She must be really special." He turned on the TV and jumped on the bed next to Sora's. Sora shrugged and just smiled.

The next morning they all had to get up at eight 'o clock and be ready to leave by nine thirty. Kairi woke up around seven, unfortunately. It was hard to get Namine and Selphie out of bed; Kairi and Yuffie practically had to drag them onto the floor. After about an hour, they were all ready to go. Kairi met up with Sora down in the lobby. He hugged and kissed her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Some of the girls in the class stared and started to whisper amongst each other. Kairi didn't care, because she had who they wanted, and she was proud of it.

They arrived at the airport. Mrs. Martinez called roll and made sure she had everybody. Once everything was clear, she escorted them to the waiting room. Their plane left at ten fifteen. They had about thirty minutes.

A few students were pulling Mr. Boivert with all their strength and forcing him to come.

"I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!" He whined. The students let go of him and he fell to the floor.

"He scares me sometimes." Yuffie said.

"Me too." Sora leaned his head on Kairi's. Her face reddened. She looked at her watch. They had ten more minutes. Mrs. Martinez started to round them all up.

"Kairi, want to sit next to me on the plane?" Sora asked.

"Sure!"

Kairi got the window. Sora sat down next to her and kissed her cheek. Yuffie sat with Selphie behind them and Riku and Namine were across from them. Kairi looked out the window.

"What the Hell?"

She saw the French flag being burned… by it's own citizen! She couldn't believe this.

"I'm sure you guys have heard about the riots going on in France right now…" Said Mr. Boivert, staring out the window. They all shook their heads. The man caught on fire. Kairi looked away.

"Pilot! Can we _please _leave now?" She begged.

"Don't worry!" The pilot called. "This happens all the time."

"People burn themselves to death all the time?" Kairi shrieked. "I've already watched two people die while I was here!"

"It's normal nowadays." He answered casually. Kairi felt a little uncomfortable. Sora put his arm around her. The plane started to take off. Kairi gave a sigh of relief. She yawned. It was going to be a long trip back to Destiny Islands, but if she could be with Sora the entire time, it didn't really matter…

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**A/N**: French people are crazy! What a short chapter… oh well! They're finally going home!


	19. Poem

**Chapter Nineteen - Poem**

School had started up again. However, there were a few changes.

"Kairi! We don't have lunch together anymore!" Namine shrieked.

"What?" Kairi looked on the board. There was a new schedule. Each class had five minutes taken from it, and they actually had an advisory period now. Not only that, Kairi had B lunch instead of A lunch. The bell rang.

"I'm sure you can all see that there is a new schedule posted on the board." Mrs. Rogers pointed out. The class groaned.

"The reason why they're doing this is so everyone could have advisory at the same time and they could do some tutoring during school. I have no control over this. Just follow it." She sat down at her desk. "Get started on your journal."

This was just great. Does this mean that Selphie wouldn't have lunch with her either? What about Sora? What lunch did he have?

"How are your semester projects going?" Asked Mrs. Rogers ten minutes later. Kairi gasped. She hadn't even started on her English project. The only ones she had finished were for Ecology and Spanish.

In Gym class, they did warm-up for about thirty minutes and then had free time after that. Kairi, Riku, Namine, and Sora all walked together on the second floor. None of them really wanted to participate in any kind of activity today. They were still in the vacation mode.

"I have B lunch." Sora said. Kairi was happy. At least she wasn't alone.

"I have C." Riku shrugged and grabbed Namine's hand. She blushed.

"This new schedule is so stupid." Said Sora. He looked over at Kairi, who had braided her hair.

"Why don't you ever keep your hair down, Kairi? You look so pretty like that…not saying that you're not already beautiful…" He said in a low tone, making Kairi's face redden.

"I don't know…"

"You want to hang out tonight?" Sora asked. 

"Sure!" She accepted.

Everyone knew that Kairi and Sora were going out. A lot of the single girls were disappointed. Many people started to know who Kairi was. However, not everyone was too _pleased _with Kairi or Sora…

"Hello, Sora." Tifa crossed her arms. Sora pulled Kairi closer to him.

"What do you want?"

Kairi stayed silent. She wasn't going to get into another fight.

"Did you have _fun _on your little _trip_?" She asked angrily.

"As a matter of fact, I did." Sora answered. "This is my girlfriend, Kairi. I believe you two have… met."

Tifa glared at Kairi and then turned her attention back to Sora. She smiled at him. As she passed them, she ruffled Sora's hair and giggled. Kairi was getting pissed.

_'I will not fight… I will not fight…'_

"She's so annoying." Sora stared at the ground.

"I know." Kairi agreed as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Sora kissed her forehead and grinned. "I'm glad to be with you."

"Me too." Kairi said.

The bell rang. Instead of going straight to lunch, Kairi went to her fourth period class instead. This new schedule was going to take a while to get used to. In spite of that, she just couldn't understand why they would do this so late in the year. She had about two months left in this hellhole, so she was glad that she wouldn't be here next year.

The rest of the day was a bit confusing for their first day with a new schedule, but she was able to get through it. She met up with Sora and walked over to his house with him.

"I hope my parents aren't home…" He said as he opened the door. Kairi didn't want to know what he meant by that…

"They're so annoying." Sora said, giving her a bit of a relief. Unfortunately, Sora's brother Saito was home…

"Who's the chick?" He laughed like a retard. Kairi raised an eyebrow as Sora tried to ignore his brother. Saito was holding a beer.

"My girlfriend. Leave us alone." Sora took Kairi upstairs. She giggled as she heard his brother acting so stupid. It was pretty amusing.

"Here's my room…"

They walked into Sora's room. It was surprisingly clean, except for a few papers that had fallen to the floor and one of the desk drawers were open. Sora had a few posters on the blue walls from bands Kairi had never heard of.

"Nice room." Kairi complimented, still looking around. Sora took a seat on his bed and sighed.

"Come here." He said sweetly. Kairi was a little uneasy. This wasn't going to turn into what she thought it would… right? She sat next to him and smiled. Sora kissed her and then pulled a notebook out from under his bed. He flipped through it until he came to the page he was looking for and gave it to Kairi. It was a poem.

_"Simple words are not enough  
To explain how I feel about you  
Staring into your eyes under the moonlight  
And holding you tightly in my warm arms  
I can't seem to find a way to say it  
But you're everything to me."_

"It's not the best thing in the world…" Sora shrugged. "I'm not really good at it."

"It's great! I love it…" Kairi wanted to cry. Although it was a little fast, she liked it. A guy had never written a poem about her before, and it just made her feel special. She pulled Sora close to her and kissed him.

"Aww, look at the two lovebirds." Saito was standing at the door.

"Go away!" Sora yelled, getting up to shut the door in his face.

"I'm telling mom that you have a girl in your room when she's not home. And by the way, why is _your _pack of cigarettes in _my _room, huh?" 

_'Cigarettes?' _Kairi thought. She hated smoking. What was he talking about?

"Those aren't mine!" Sora denied, finally able to close and lock his door. He hesitated before turning back around and grinning at Kairi, who was pretty confused. 

"Sora… do you smoke?"

"No!" Sora tried to laugh it off and came and sat next to her again. "Why would I do something stupid like that? My brother is an asshole, don't mind him."

"Okay." She smiled. Sora kissed her cheek. She knew Sora wouldn't lie to her.

"It's getting late…" Kairi looked at her watch. Her mother would kill her. She never even bothered to tell her that she was going to hang out with Sora today. Actually… her mother didn't even know who Sora was…

"I'll drive you home, okay?" Sora took her hand as they walked towards the door. Before opening it though, he kissed her. After that, they went downstairs and got into his car. Kairi was home ten minutes later.

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**A/N**: Awww! Hmm, _is _Sora lying? Makes you wonder! Right now I'm completely spoiling KH2 for myself… oh yeah… youtube is an awesome site…

**Sora**: NO! SHEILD YOUR EYES! YOU CAN'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!

**Me**: NOOO! I MUST SEE! It doesn't really matter, because it's in Japanese. I don't know what the heck they're saying, so what am I ruining?

**Sora**: DAMN YOU!


	20. The Tree House

**A/N**: Look! It's an entire chapter about Sora! BE HONORED, SORA!

**Sora**: Yay!

**Chapter Twenty – The Tree House**

Sora pulled a lighter out of his pocket. He stood next to the ocean. A light breeze went by as the waves moved along with it. He started to smoke.

_'I can't tell her that I do this… she'd flip…'_ He thought. _'But then again…'_

"What are you doing out here?"

"Go away, Saito." Sora said angrily.

"Did you think that you could make out with her on your bed without anyone walking in?" He asked.

"Just leave me alone."

"You're pretty pissy tonight." Saito sat down. Sora just glared. He couldn't stand his older brother.

"I'm not telling her that I smoke." Sora sat down next to him.

"That would be lying."

"Your point? She'd hate me." Sora sighed heavily.

"Dude," his brother started, "she'd hate you even more for lying to her. Don't you know anything about women?"

"What do _you _know?"

Saito took a cigarette and lit it. "I do know that she'll completely despise you for lying to her."

"I don't know…" Sora stood up. "I'm going back inside." He threw the cigarette onto the ground and went back into the house. His mother was arguing with his stepfather in the kitchen.

"What do you mean the bill never came in?" He yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"It didn't! I swear!" She exclaimed.

Sora heard a smack. He rushed back to the kitchen.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Sora tackled his stepfather to the ground. His mother screamed. He punched him in the face several times before his stepfather was able to throw him off and stand up in a drunken rage. Saito heard the noises from outside and sprinted in to try and stop the fight. Him and Sora's mother both pulled them away from each other. Sora tried to break free of his mother's grip, as well as his stepfather from Saito's. After a while, they just glared.

"Don't you EVER hit my mother, you hear?" Sora shouted. His stepfather made a few movements to try and break away from Saito, but Saito was able to hold on.

"You're worthless!" He yelled to Sora. Sora gritted his teeth. His mother was starting to hurt him since she was holding on so tightly. However, he didn't care. Right now he just wanted to beat the shit out of him.

"Sora, get upstairs now…" His mother demanded in between sobs. She let him go. Sora kept his eyes on his stepfather as he walked out of the room and up the stairs. He knew he was going to come after him. He had to get out of here. He ran upstairs and got his suitcase out of the closet. He pulled some clothes, his school uniform, and a couple more things and put them in there. He hadn't run away in a long time. Right now he didn't really give a damn though. Tears were rolling down his cheeks.

He opened the window. He had snuck out of this window many times before, but not usually to run away. Where would he go? He pondered on this thought, but at this moment he figured he would just run off somewhere. It was raining. Sora closed his window. He could hear his stepfather stomping up the stairs and cursing. Once he landed on the ground safely, he ran into the backyard and went into the woods. Maybe he could go to Wakka's house or something. It was ten thirty at night. Would Wakka even be home? No, he couldn't go to anyone's house. If he went to Kairi's, she would just question him constantly, and he didn't feel like talking to anyone.

"I would take my car… but it makes too much noise… I'll come back and get it later…" He was soaked. He found his old treehouse that him and Riku made back in middle school with Sora's dad and Riku's dad. There was somebody up there already…

"Sora?" It was Riku.

"What are you doing up there?" Sora called.

"I sleep up here sometimes." He answered. "Whoa, you're soaked."

"Can I come up?" Sora had nowhere else to go. Riku nodded. He threw his suitcase up there. Riku caught it and gave him an anxious look. Riku let Sora have one of his blankets to keep warm.

"I haven't been up here in years. It got bigger."

"Yeah," Riku said, "my father and I made a few adjustments. So what happened to you?"

"I got in a fight with my stepdad." Sora said.

"Ah." Riku had a small lantern that gave them barely enough light to see. "So why didn't you go over to Kairi's?"

"I don't want her to worry."

"Are you going to school tomorrow?" Riku asked. Sora shrugged.

"I don't know."

Sora thought it was a little awkward to be talking to Riku like this, but what else did he have to lose?

"Well, I'm going to sleep. You should get some sleep too."

Sora was surprised at how much bigger the tree house was, and how it was possible for them both to be able to sleep up there without having the tree cave in. It was a pretty strong tree. They chose the spot well.

"All right." Sora turned over and went to sleep.

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**A/N**: I know you guys are like, "WHY IS SORA SMOKING?" etc. But isn't that just the joy of fanfiction? You can make the characters do whatever you want!

**Sora**: I hate smoke!

**Me**: HUSH! You will do whatever I tell you to do!

_Sora starts crying._


	21. Apathetic?

**Chapter 21 – Apathetic?**

Kairi picked up the phone. She had never actually called Sora before. He might've been her boyfriend, but she was still nervous for some reason.

"He wasn't at school today… I wonder if he's all right…" She said aloud, staring at his number on the slip of paper in her other hand.

"He's probably just sick… I shouldn't bother him…" Right when she put the phone down, it rang. Kairi screamed and answered it. 

"H-Hello?" There was a pause. "Oh, Yuffie, don't scare me like that…"

"What do you mean?" She asked from the other end.

"Nothing! Forget it." Kairi laughed. 

"All righty then… hey, could you meet me at the pier in fifteen minutes? It's kind of important… I need to talk to someone."

"Something wrong?" Kairi asked anxiously.

"Yeah. Just be there, all right? Ja." She hung up. Kairi grabbed her keys and rushed out the door. What could Yuffie possibly mean? She had never actually asked Kairi to come out and see her; usually they would just talk about it on the phone. It must've been really serious.

When she arrived, she saw Yuffie sitting on the pier staring out into the ocean. Kairi took a few deep breaths from exhaustion and walked slowly over to her.

"Hey." Yuffie said emotionlessly, without even turning around. Kairi sat down next to her. Yuffie didn't take her gaze away from the ocean.

"This guy wrote this poem…" she started, "a very… depressing one… and…"

Kairi was trying to figure out where this was going. Yuffie was not happy at all.

"I told him to go shoot himself, because I'm so used to people being that way… sad and depressing… suicidal… all that shit…" Kairi was in shock.

"I'm serious… I just don't really care anymore…"

"Kind of sounds like you do." Kairi responded.

"The other day I found out he actually _did _kill himself… and I get the feeling it's all my fault." 

Kairi didn't know what to say. Yuffie wasn't showing any emotion at all. This was strange…

"And," she shrugged, "despite that, I still don't really care."

"What?" Kairi said louder than she should have. Yuffie looked at her. Kairi stood up.

"How can you not care? That's just… evil!" 

"Well, he's gone, why should I?" Yuffie pointed out.

Kairi couldn't say anything. Yuffie was crazy. She had never seen her act this way. It was like she had no heart at all… 

"I'm apathetic now." Yuffie said.

"No… no…" Kairi took a few steps back. She couldn't have a friend that didn't care about anything at all… could she? Yuffie was wrong…

"How could you be so… cold…" Kairi said in a low tone. She was about to cry. Yuffie got to her feet and walked over to Kairi. There was a prolonged silence between them. Kairi clenched her fists. She couldn't take this anymore. She broke into a run.

"Kairi! Where are you going?" Yuffie called, starting to run after her. Kairi didn't want to answer. She couldn't stand to be around someone that had no feeling at all…

She had finally lost Yuffie when she ran into the woods. She actually knew where she was this time too. Kairi nearly choked from all the crying. How could Yuffie be that way?

"It's not right!" She screamed, falling to the ground. "Yuffie… you're wrong!"

The next day, Kairi tried to avoid Yuffie at all costs. The good thing was that Sora was back at school. However, Kairi was still a little shaken from the day before.

"Hey Kairi." Sora hugged her. 

"Hello…" Kairi replied in a low tone, hugging him back. She held onto him and tried to smile.

"What's the matter, Kairi?" He put his hands on her shoulders. Kairi could feel the tears wanting to form again. She didn't want Sora to see her cry… did she? She pulled him into another hug. However, she wasn't able to fight it. She began to cry.

"Kairi!" He massaged her back. Namine and Selphie rushed over to them.

"Kairi!" They both said in unison. Kairi didn't answer them.

"Kairi… honey…" Sora whispered. He stroked her hair with his fingers and kissed her forehead. "Talk to us…"

Kairi saw Yuffie at the end of the hallway. She didn't even bother to look over at them; she just kept walking. Riku came up to the group.

"What's the matter with her?" He asked pointing to Kairi.

"I don't know!" Namine held onto Riku.

They all walked home together that day. Kairi felt a little better than before; Selphie was making her laugh at some points. Sora was right at her side, along with Namine and Riku as well. Maybe losing Yuffie wasn't so bad after all, because she had people who actually did care. Namine and Riku went over to Riku's house.

"Man, if Yuffie's like that than I don't like her either!" Selphie crossed her arms.

"So you're really not going to be her friend anymore?" Sora asked. Kairi nodded.

"I made a decision. If she doesn't care than I shouldn't either. It's easy." It was silent. They continued to walk.

"I don't think life is quite that simple…" Sora said.

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**A/N**: YAY! Simple and Clean quote! How mean of Yuffie…


	22. The Prom

**Chapter 22 – The Prom**

Three weeks had passed. The prom was tomorrow, and Kairi actually wanted to go. She didn't go to any of the school dances in her previous high school years because she figured she could save all of that for her final year. Now that she was a senior and had a boyfriend, there was no reason for her not to go to the prom.

Sora wanted to go as well, which wasn't a big surprise. He had asked Kairi the day before and of course she accepted. Kairi was able to get Namine and Selphie to come as well. This was going to be great. However, Kairi didn't have a dress…

"Argh, I hate dresses…" Kairi rummaged through her closet. She still had the one she wore to the Military Ball back in Middle School when she went with Yuffie. Of course it didn't fit her anymore. She never got around to getting rid of it.

After school that day, her, Namine, and Selphie went out to search for a dress to the prom. Kairi didn't even bother to bring Sora along; he would be too bored. Plus, she hadn't spent much time with her friends lately.

"Wow! This one is pretty!" Namine pointed to a light purple dress. She looked at the price and whined. "Three Hundred munny? Aww… I only have Two-Hundred…"

"You shouldn't spend all your money on a dress you'll only wear once." Selphie said. She held up a beautiful green dress with sparkles. "This one is only Fifty munny. I'm getting it."

Kairi was the only one who couldn't find one. She never looked for dresses before, and she never really planned on doing so until her wedding. However, it was going to be a special night. She imagined her and Sora slow dancing. Kairi's face reddened at the thought.

"Hey Kairi, how about this one?" Namine showed her a long, thin red dress with a design of golden strings from the corset. It was like a medieval dress or something. Kairi didn't know much about clothes, but this dress was fantastic. She gladly took it from Namine, thanked her, and they tried to help Namine find her dress so they could leave. They finally did; a long, blue dress that kind of reminded Kairi of Cinderella. However, the sleeves weren't as puffy, and it looked great on Namine. The trio bought their dresses and left.

The next day at school, everyone was talking about what they were going to wear or who they would bring to the prom. Kairi didn't want to brag that she was bringing Sora, so she just kept her mouth shut. However, Sora was telling everyone that he was bringing Kairi.

"Sora, will you go to the prom with me?" Asked a random girl.

"I'm sorry, I'm taking my girlfriend Kairi. I can't." He smiled. The girl walked off sadly. She must've had her confidence boosted before that, because Kairi had never seen her talk to any guy.

At lunch, Sora, Kairi and Selphie all sat down together. Wakka came over there too, with some girl Kairi had never seen before.

"This is Lulu. Her and I are going to the prom together." Wakka introduced. Lulu waved. For a chick that was wearing all black, Kairi thought she was actually very pretty. She waved back.

Selphie, Sora, Namine, and Riku all came over to Kairi's house that afternoon to pick her up. Kairi was in the bathroom making sure everything was perfect. The four of them waited downstairs with Kairi's mother and Markus.

"I'm Sora. I'm Kairi's boyfriend." Sora shook her mother's hand.

"So that's who you are! You're so adorable!"

"It took them _forever _to go out!" Selphie blurted out.

"Oh really?" Said Kairi's mother. "Would you guys like anything to eat or drink?" They all shook their heads. Koru came into the room. He took one look at Sora and quickened his pace to the TV room. Sora's eyes widened.

"Koru! Come back here! You've gotta meet Kairi's boyfriend!" His mother called after him. "I have homework!" He said. Sora stared at the floor.

Kairi had curled her hair just for this occasion. She actually thought she looked pretty for once in her life.

"Kairi! Your friends are here!" Her mother called from downstairs. Kairi knew they were; she heard the doorbell ring. She could hear Selphie and Namine coming up the stairs.

"Kairi? You in there?" Selphie knocked on the door.

"Yeah, I'll be out in just a minute!" Kairi took one last look in the mirror, grabbed her purse and opened the door. Selphie and Namine gasped.

"Wow!" They said in unison.

Sora and Riku must've heard them, because Riku laughed a little and Sora's stomach twisted. Was he nervous?

"Here she comes!" Selphie called from the top of the stairs.

"Selphie!" Kairi said in a whisper, wondering why Selphie was trying to embarrass her. She started to walk downstairs. Kairi hated the high heels she was wearing, but her mother had made her wear them. She could see part of Riku halfway down and stopped.

"Selphie! I'm too scared!" She whispered. Selphie and Namine looked at her strangely. They decided to go down before her. Namine clang to Riku.

Once Kairi came into view, Sora was speechless. He had never seen anyone more beautiful. Namine snuck a picture of both Kairi walking down the stairs and Sora's mouth gaped open. Sora took her hand once she got to the bottom of the stairs and kissed her.

"Whoa…" was all Sora could say at the moment. Kairi's face reddened. Her mother was going crazy in the background. Sora was wearing a normal tuxedo with a white rose. He handed Kairi a red one that he had been keeping behind his back all this time. She gladly took it and hugged him. "You look outstanding…"

"Well, we'd better get going." Riku said.

"Have fun!" Kairi's mother waved as they all walked out the door. She was nearly crying.

"And remember, no sex, no drugs, and be home before… one thirty!"

"Mom!" Kairi yelled. The rest of them laughed and said goodbye. Kairi got in the front seat with Sora and the other three sat in the back. They joked around in the car the entire time.

"The boogie man lives in my kitchen." Selphie said. She seemed serious.

"What the Hell?" Riku raised an eyebrow. Namine giggled.

"His name is George." (**A/N**: No offense to anyone named George, I just thought of a random name!)

"Oh really…" Sora said sarcastically.

"He ate my kitten!" Selphie whined.

"I thought your kitten died when it got run over by a car…" Namine hit Riku. Selphie hit him too.

"Ow…" Riku complained, rubbing his arm.

"Anyway," Sora tried changing the subject, "we're here."

They arrived at school. Sora opened Kairi's door for her and took her hand. They kissed and waited for the others. Once Riku, Namine and Selphie got out of the car, they headed into the gym. There were tons of people there in their little groups, dancing to some song Kairi never heard before. It was extremely loud.

Sora pulled Kairi closer to him as they walked, which made Kairi feel a lot better. She saw that a lot of people were looking at them. Maybe they were jealous?

"Punch?" Sora handed Kairi a cup. She took it and drank a little. She didn't want to get a stomachache, so she didn't want to eat or drink very much. The song changed. It was "Traveling" by Hikki. Kairi gasped.

"I love this song!" She exclaimed.

"Let's dance to it then." Sora pulled her out onto the dance floor. Kairi didn't know how to dance…

Selphie, Namine, and Riku came over to them. Selphie seemed to be enjoying herself; she didn't really know how to dance either. However, she didn't care what people thought of her.

"Come on, Kairi!" She grabbed Kairi's hand and started to swing her around.

"Oh, what the Hell…" Kairi just started to make up moves. She knew she looked stupid, but who could actually dance anyway? Namine, Riku and Sora all joined in. People were staring. Sora tried to keep Kairi's eyes off of theirs though.

After the song was over, they all laughed. A few more songs came on, and they jammed to those too. Kairi was waiting for the perfect song that should could dance with Sora to... however, they kept playing all the songs she didn't like.She went over to the bleachers to rest. Sora and Selphie sat on each side of her.

"Man, that was fun!" Selphie exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was…" Sora agreed. "I'll be right back." Sora kissed Kairi's cheek and headed for the bathroom.

As Sora was washing his hands, Tidus walked into the bathroom. They glared at each other as Tidus closed a stall. They were the only two in there.

"So who are you here with?" Tidus asked once he came out. Why was he talking to him?

"My girlfriend." Sora didn't look at him. He dried his hands and headed for the door.

"Oh, that Kari chick?"

"It's Kairi." Sora was starting to get angry.

"Whatever. She's so stupid. Her and her little friends."

Sora wanted to beat him to death for saying that. However, that would ruin the entire night for both him and Kairi. He decided it was best to walk away.

"Do you agree with me or something?" He heard Tidus say just as he was about to close the door. "No," he walked back into the gym.

_'He's the stupid one…' _Sora said to himself. Something wasn't right. The music had been turned down. He saw a huge crowd.Sora foundout it wasKairi and gasped. She was on the floor crying. Part of her dress was torn up. He ran over to her. Selphie, Namine, and Riku were all trying to move people away from her.

"What happened?" Sora yelled.

"It…was…" Kairi choked. She fell into Sora's arms. Sora hugged her tightly.

"Tifa came and tried to fight her again!" Namine blurted out.

"Yeah… she had some friends with her… Kairi and I couldn't fight them…" Selphie said sadly.

"Damn it…that bitch!" Sora had to get her out of here. People were staring at them. He carefully escorted Kairi out the back door. Namine, Selphie, and Riku followed.

"I WANT TO KILL HER!" Kairi screamed. Sora tried to hold her back from running back in there and making a big mistake. She was crying uncontrollably now. Sora fought with her to get her into the car, and eventually she gave in. They all left.

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**A/N**: Poor Kairi! That was a long chapter…

**Kairi**, whining: It's ruined!

**Sora**: I'll make up for it…


	23. Boat

**A/N: **Okay, I had absolutely NO idea what to name this chapter... so just go along with it... XD

**Chapter 23 – Boat**

Selphie, Namine, and Riku tried to comfort Kairi as Sora drove. Sora said some things every now and then, but was too angry to say much. He decided he would just take them all home.

"I just don't understand… how come every time I actually have fun… it's always ruined?" Kairi started crying again. Sora stopped at Namine's house.

"We weren't even there for an hour…" Kairi wasn't looking at anyone. This was the senior prom… they were supposed to stay until past midnight and have the time of their lives. She felt like she let everyone down…

"Kairi, don't feel bad…" Namine said as she got out of the car. Riku went with her.

"It's fine…" Namine assured her. She thanked Sora and walked with Riku up to the house. Sora drove away once she was able to open the door.

Selphie was pretty quiet. This was strange of her. The only sounds were from the car going down the road. Sora reached over and patted Kairi's back. They arrived at Selphie's house and waited for her to get inside. She waved to them and disappeared into the house.

"Are you taking me home now?" Kairi asked quietly. It took a moment for Sora to respond.

"No." He said simply. Kairi looked at him. "Huh?" He didn't say anything; just drove. Kairi felt terrible. This was supposed to be a night she would remember forever… with good memories… not bad ones…

About ten minutes of silence passed. Kairi looked out the window. Where was he taking her? He certainly wasn't taking her home. They arrived at the beach. Sora stopped, got out of the car, and went over to open the door for her. He held out his hand. Kairi looked at him for a while before taking it. He smiled, which made her blush.

"You don't get seasick, do you?" He asked. Kairi shook her head. Sora brought her over to the pier. There was a boat big enough for the two of them next to it, almost like he had planned this. He got in the boat and helped her get in too. Kairi sat down. Sora started to paddle out into the ocean.

"Don't worry, I'm not going too far."

"Why are you doing this?" Kairi asked stupidly. She still felt like crap. Sora mumbled something.

"Huh?" Kairi didn't understand.

"Because… I want to spend some time with you… make you feel better, you know." He stopped. They were far enough from Destiny Islands for them to barely be seen under the night sky. The moon hid behind the clouds. Sora turned to face Kairi.

"There we go." He sat next to her taking a big, exhausted sigh.

"Um… won't the boat flip over?" She asked nervously.

"Maybe." Sora shrugged. He put his hand on Kairi's and grinned. Her face reddened.

"Hey," Sora whispered, "don't laugh at this, okay?"

"I can't guarantee it." Kairi joked.

"I've… liked you for a long time…" He admitted.

"How… long?"

"Eh…" there was a pause, "maybe since… middle school?" Sora seemed to be a little nervous.

Kairi was in shock. She never noticed?

"R-Really?" She stuttered. Sora nodded. "Yeah. I just couldn't tell you. I'm... not sure why…"

"Wow…" Kairi didn't know what to say. How could she NEVER have realized that Sora liked her back then? Was she that stupid? All this time... and she didn't sense anything at all...

"I really wish I asked you out sooner…" Sora's grip tightened. Kairi's stomach twisted. She stared into his eyes.

"Well…" she said in a low tone, "we're together now… and that's all that matters… right?" He nodded.

"Yeah… and…" Sora looked away.

"And?" Kairi asked. Before Sora said anything though, he started to kiss her. This time he knew that there weren't any crazy, suicidal men to bother them. Kairi put her hand on his cheek and kissed back. He was so sweet…

_'He's so awesome…'_ She thought to herself.

The boat was shaking. (**A/N**: They're not doing THAT, or else I would have to change the rating… heh…) He had pushed her onto her back gently as he continued to kiss her soft lips. Kairi didn't seem to mind. (**A/N**: I sweeeaaaar….) Sora seemed to have an obsession with stroking her hair, because he did that quite often. She put her hands around his neck. Sora opened his eyes and smiled, then started kissing her again. "This won't turn into sex, I promise." He whispered. Kairi nodded.

"But..." he started, sitting up a little. Kairi blinked. "Huh?"

"You don't mind if I take this dress shirt off, do you? It's hot out here..." Kairi blushed at the thought of Sora without a shirt on.

"Eh... sure. Just don't make _me_ take anything off." They both laughed.

"No, of course not." Sora unbuttoned his shirt and threw it down. His lips touched hers again, this time a lot longer. Kairi massaged his bare shoulders.

_'Control yourself, Sora... conrol...'_

Sora began to kiss her neck. Kairi was a little shocked, but went along with it. He said it wouldn't turn into sex, and if it did, she would stop him. His arm was comforting the back of her neck against the boat. It would've looked quite strange if someone were to see them in the distance. Sora returned to her lips again when he thought he was doing a little too much... well, actually he _did_ do a little _too much_ without realizing it... because he had... _accidently_ left a hickie onthe bottom of her neck...

"Eh..." Sora sat up. Kairi opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Something wrong, Sora?" She asked anxiously. Kairi was starting to feel bad again...

"No, I'm sorry." Sora said. Kairi lifted herself up next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. Sora put his arm around her. They stared out into the ocean.

"Thanks, Sora... I feel a lot better..."

"You're welcome, hun." He pulled her closer. "But... you might want to hide from your mother when you get home... I didn't mean to..." (**A/N**: That's kind of funny... Imagine Sora doing this... XD)

"What?" She looked at him strangely.

"There's... a hickie right there..." He pointed. Kairi gasped. "Oh shit!"

"I'm sorry!" He burried his face in his hands. Kairi paused, and then laughed.

"Heh... that was cute!" She exclaimed.

"Huh?" Sora was confused. Kairi did an imitation of what he just did. He started to laugh.

"So you're not mad at me?"

"It'll go away, right?" Kairi shrugged.

"I... guess..." Sorastared back at the ocean. She grabbed his hand and held onto it tightly. Sora looked at her for a while, and then grinned. His smile always made butterflies in her stomach. He made her feel so... safe...

"Kairi?" Sora said after a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"I know we've only been going out for a little over a month… and this might sound weird since i'm shirtless and we were just making out...but…" He paused, "I'm… in love with you." Kairi gasped. It was kind of random... and she definitely wasn't prepared for it...

"But… how?" Sure Kairi _liked _him… a lot… but love was a big deal. Was he serious?

"How? How can I not?" He asked. Kairi hugged him tightly. He laughed a little and pulled away.

"I love you, Kairi." He stopped for a moment. "I mean it."

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**A/N**: Ooo, a little soft porn... and... I'M GONNA CRY! Hmmm… does Sora really mean it? I HAD NO SCHOOL DUE TO SNOW! **does a happy dance** w00!

**Riku**: At least you GET snow.

**Me**: So? Just because it's one inch of snow doesn't mean anything…

**Sora**: ONE INCH? YOU GOT OUT FOR ONE INCH OF SNOW?

**Me**: I always do. oO;

**Kairi**: That's… not fair…


	24. Lies

**Chapter 24 -- Lies**

Sora and Kairi spent a little bit more time together in the boat before heading back to the car. Kairi giggled as Sora held her close and whispered sweet things in her ear. They got into the car. It was nearing one 'o clock. Kairi had to be home by one thirty, so they had plenty of time. She leaned over and kissed him shyly on the cheek before he started driving. However, Sora wasn't just going to let her get away like that. He got closer and kissed her lips for about ten seconds.

"I love you." He said. Kairi's face reddened.

"I love you… too…" That was the first time she had ever said that to any guy. Sora smiled widely and started driving. Kairi leaned back in her seat and sighed. She had just told him she loved him… and she meant it! She had never felt this way before…

"Again… thank you. Despite what happened at the prom, I'm glad that you were here with me." Kairi gave him one last kiss before opening her front door. Sora hugged her. "Anytime." He whispered.

"You want to hang out tomorrow?" Kairi asked.

"Eh, sorry. I think I'll just rest tomorrow, but I promise that we can hang out on Sunday, if you'd like." Sora answered. Kairi nodded. "Sure!"

They parted. Kairi waved as Sora walked back to his car and then went inside. It was dark. She wondered if anyone was still awake, which they were, because Taka walked into the room.

"What happened to you?" He asked, looking at her dress. Kairi gasped. She had forgotten all about her dress and the fact that it was torn up…

"I… accidentally stepped on it… and it ripped…" She lied. He eyed her for a while, then shrugged and walked off. Kairi sighed in relief and ran up to her room before her mom would've been able to wake up and question her. She locked her door and changed into her pajamas. Kairi set the dress down in the back of her closet. She was in a really good mood and didn't feel like doing anything with it at the moment. She was also pretty tired from such a long, wonderful night. Kairi pulled the covers over herself and tried to go to sleep. There was a knock at her door.

"Kairi?" Koru whispered. He knocked again. "Kairi!"

"What do you want?" Kairi opened the door.

"We need to talk." He said as he walked in without her consent.

"What?" Kairi shut her door and went back over to her bed. Koru sat in her desk chair.

"Your boyfriend is a bastard!"

Kairi was extremely offended by the sudden outburst. "Don't talk about Sora like that! He's sweet! What the Hell!"

"Kairi!" Koru stood up and started doing hand motions. "Remember when I told you about those three guys that were messing with me and my friends?" Kairi nodded slowly.

"He was one of them! I swear, Kairi! I can't forget someone that looks like that!"

"What are you trying to say?" She snapped. "Sora doesn't even smoke!"

"He was when I saw him." Koru said. She didn't believe him. They were all lies.

"Get out of my room!" She demanded, trying not to be too loud.

"Wait!" Koru said eagerly. "Come with me to the skate park tomorrow… you'll see… they're always there whenever I am! The other day, the tall one with the red spiked hair challenged me to a fight… and I… have to be there…"

"Hold up, tall one with red spiked hair?" She repeated. It sounded a lot like Wakka…

"Yeah… he's really tanned… and has these big muscles too…" Kairi gasped. Not only was her little brother going to be in a fight, but it was against Wakka?

"And… what has Sora done to you?" She asked regretfully.

"He just… plays along… it's mostly the other dude, but every now and then Sora will say something mean…"

"Like what?"

Koru thought for a moment. "Well, he would laugh at me… say I'm stupid, etc. But seriously… if you hide somewhere and watch for a little bit… you'll see what they do to me and my friends every single time I go there!"

Kairi couldn't believe it. Koru was finally able to convince her to go. The next day around four or so, they got ready and headed for the skate park. Koru's little friends greeted him. There were three of them.

"What is she doing here?" Asked Christian.

"I have to prove that her boyfriend is an asshole." Kairi hit him. They arrived at the skate park. Kairi doubted that Sora would be here; he just told her last night that he was going to rest today so they could hang out tomorrow.

Koru told her to hide over in the woods nearby. "Remember, don't come out until you've heard and seen enough…" Kairi did so and waited. Koru and his friends began to skate around casually. Could he be lying? Kairi truthfully didn't believe any of it, even if the descriptions matched. She yawned. This was boring.

After about fifteen minutes of complete boredom, she heard some commotion. Kairi looked up and saw a boy with long, brunette hair that she didn't know talking to her little brother. Wakka came up next to him. Kairi could tell it was Wakka no matter what the distance, especially by the way he talked. However, she didn't see Sora anywhere.

"So you actually showed up, heh." Wakka gave Koru a light push. Makoto, one of Koru's other friends, stood in front of him. Christian and Jin did the same. Koru was like their leader or something, Kairi thought. Wakka merely laughed. It was hard for Kairi to hear exactly what they were saying, but she could see everything they were doing.

"Leave him alone." Makoto got into some martial arts stance. (Kairi didn't know much about martial arts.) The two older guys busted out laughing. Kairi never thought Wakka could be so mean…

"Hey, come over here, man!" Wakka called to someone between breaths that Kairi couldn't see. Suddenly she saw a brown-haired boy with spiky hair that flew in every direction, those big yellow shoes and that black outfit that…

"Sora!" Kairi gasped. She wanted to get up, but she also wanted to see if what Koru was saying about him was true. Not only that, Sora had just thrown what looked like a cigarette on the ground. He walked over to them with his hands in his pockets. He said he didn't smoke…

"These kids think they can fight us." Wakka pointed, still trying to breathe. Sora gave a small laugh, but his smile faded when he saw Koru glaring at him.

Leon, the brunette guy, walked over to Makoto, Christian and Jin. He crossed his arms and smirked. "This is almost too funny." Suddenly, he grabbed Makoto by the shirt. Kairi tried to keep herself from screaming.

"Come on, Sora! Why are you just standing there? I bet you could take all these dumbasses down!" Wakka pushed Jin and Christian over. People crowded behind them. Koru was the only one standing. Kairi couldn't take this anymore… sure he was annoying most the time… but that was her little brother…

"Don't tell me you've gone soft on me, Sora!" Leon shouted. Sora didn't answer him. He was staring at Koru. He knew that was Kairi's brother.

"Sora! Beat his ass!" Wakka yelled. The crowd cheered. (**A/N**: They're popular, okay?) Sora knew he couldn't do it. However, maybe if he beat Koru really well, he wouldn't remember and he couldn't tell Kairi… no, that was a stupid idea…

"What the Hell is your problem, man?" Leon asked.

"I won't do it." Sora crossed his arms.

"What?" Wakka looked at him strangely. "Does this have anything to do with your little girlfriend?" Ignoring his own comment, Wakka pushed Sora at Koru. Sora knew he was no match for Wakka, so he didn't turn around. He was now face to face with Koru.

"I'm telling her…" Koru said quietly as he glared. "As a matter of fact…"

All of a sudden, Christian, Jin and Makoto jumped on Sora and started punching him. "SHIT!" Sora screamed as their weight knocked him to the ground. Kairi's eyes widened. She had to stop this.

"QUIT IT!" She tried to pull Koru and his friends off. Wakka and Leon's mouths gaped wide open, especially Sora's when they saw her. (**A/N**: Kairi couldn't really hear what they were saying, so keep that in mind…)

"K-Kairi!" Sora stood up and brushed himself off. Kairi was at a loss for words. Tears were forming in her eyes. Sora tried to move closer and grab her hand, but she pulled away from him.

"How could you?" She screamed.

"I didn't do anything!"

"But you have before…"

Sora paused. "That was before I knew he was your _brother_!" The crowd ooed.

"Wait, that's your brother?" Wakka asked, and then started laughing again.

"Shut up!" Sora said to him and walked over to Kairi. However, Kairi moved back.

"Not only that…" she sobbed, "but you told me that you didn't smoke… YOU LIED TO ME!" She pushed him as hard as she could and started to run.

"KAIRI!" Sora sprinted after her. Kairi didn't know where she was going, nor did she care. She ran into the woods. She could hear Sora and Koru coming after her, but she didn't want to stop. It wasn't the fact that Sora smoked that was the big deal… it was the fact that he had lied straight to her face… and she actually believed him. Even one small lie can complicate everything...

Koru and Sora stopped after they couldn't see her anywhere. Kairi was hiding in a small ditch.

"Great, now you lost my sister!" Koru yelled at him.

"What?" Sora looked around. "Kairi! Come on!" He called. There was no answer.

"She could get lost out here…" Sora was freaking out. Koru knew where she was, but he wasn't going to tell him.

"You should be getting home." Koru said coldly. "It's getting dark." Sora glared at him and continued to call Kairi's name.

Kairi plugged her ears. She didn't want to hear Sora's voice right now. She couldn't believe this. Just last night they had confessed that they loved each other. She knew this wasn't as big of a deal as she was making it, but she couldn't help it. Kairi was hurt.

About ten minutes passed. Kairi unplugged her ears and looked around. She could hear someone coming towards the ditch.

"Kairi," it was Koru.

"Is he… gone?" She asked.

"Yes." Koru helped her get out of the ditch.

"Now do you believe me?" Kairi nodded. She wiped her tears away and sniffled. "But then again, he didn't _fight _you, did he?" She asked.

"Not this time. Ever since he saw me at the house last night and found out I was your brother, he was probably too afraid to do anything to me. He knew I would've told you, and he didn't want that to happen. That's why he didn't fight me today."

"So why did you bring me here… if you knew he wasn't going to do anything to you?" Kairi asked. They got out of the woods.

"Because I wanted to prove to you that it _was _him and his friends that were messing with me. Sora may not have done anything today, but he has before." Koru pulled up his sleeve to show his shoulder. "See this bruise? He punched me last week."

Kairi didn't know what she was going to do.

"He was…" she started, but stopped.

"Huh?" Koru looked at her.

"He was… all the things I thought I knew…"

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**A/N**: OMG, that chapter took FOREVER. –points to the two hours— xX; Oh well! It's finished! I had to get it done before American Idol… I think that comes on tonight… I dunno… Hmm, I wonder what Kairi's going to do now? Review and you'll find out!


	25. Life After Heartbreak

**Chapter 25 – Life after Heartbreak**

By Monday, everyone knew of Kairi and Sora's breakup. Some people questioned Kairi, but she merely walked faster to get away from them. The last person she wanted to see or talk about right now was Sora.

Selphie and Namine were pretty sympathetic towards her all day, which is natural since they were her best friends. In English class, Kairi put her head down and tried to avoid getting called on by Mrs. Rogers. However, the teacher always seemed to know when you really didn't want to be called on, and did it anyway.

"Kairi, do you need to go to guidance?" Whispered Mrs. Rogers. Kairi looked up at her and shook her head. She gave her teacher a hopeless look. Namine looked over and sighed. The bell rang.

Namine helped Kairi get to Spanish class without any trouble from their peers. Unfortunately for Kairi, Sora was in her 2nd period. Namine went to her class and 2nd period started. Sora was tardy.

To make matters worse, Kairi forgot about the group work they had to finish up from the previous week. It was her, Selphie and Sora in one group, and she didn't want to deal with him. Mrs. Martinez told them to get into their groups. Sora sat down in front of Kairi. The two girls glared at him. He sighed.

Sora didn't talk much, surprisingly. Every now and then Kairi would catch him staring at her, but he would immediately look away once they made eye contact.

"We have to get this done." Selphie said. They all agreed. Kairi couldn't stand it when Sora would look at her.

"Quit it!" Kairi crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. Every time her eyes met his, a terrible pain ached in her chest. He lied to her. She thought she could trust him. She thought he was the most wonderful person in the world. Now she only saw him as an asshole… that she loved to… hate…

"Pass up your papers," Mrs. Martinez said, "and go back to your seats." Sora stood up. As he walked by, he set his hand on Kairi's shoulder.

"We need to talk later." He went back to his desk. Kairi didn't want to talk to him… yet she did. She was so confused. Selphie gave her an anxious look and sighed.

At lunch, a bunch of girls surrounded Sora just like before. Obviously he wasn't as enthusiastic to see them all like he was before he met Kairi, because… he kept looking over at her. It was rather annoying…

"I just don't understand… the other night we were saying how much we loved each other, and now I can't even stand to see his face…"

"Well…" Selphie started, trying to find the words to say, "love sucks, doesn't it?"

Kairi nodded. She couldn't agree more. "Every heart has its time to break…"

On the way home, Kairi took a different route so Sora wouldn't find her. Unfortunately, he was a pretty good stalker…

"Kairi! Wait up!"

Kairi tried to ignore him. She quickened her pace. However, Sora caught up to her.

"Please… let's just talk about this…"

"What is there to talk about?" She said quietly. Her heart was beating really fast. Sora stood in front of her, making her stop. He put his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't touch me," Kairi pulled away. Sora grabbed her hand.

"Kairi, please… I want to talk to you…"

Kairi had that weak feeling in her knees again. She also knew that she'd be crying before this was over. She was too sensitive. It was best to just try and run away all together.

"Fine, but hurry up." She crossed her arms.

"I'm… truly sorry…" he began, not helping the situation much at all. "I am. I was going to stop by your house today to apologize to you and your little brother, but I wanted to speak with you first… because, well…" He paused, "I really care about you… and before you start saying that I'm lying… I really mean it… after what happened Saturday, I went even deeper into depression…"

Depression? Sora? She didn't want to believe him. She knew he had an abusive father and all… but…

"Kairi, when I said I loved you last Friday, I was serious. I… have never felt this way about anyone…" He scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I smoked… I thought you wouldn't like me anymore. I've actually been smoking for about two years now…"

"Why are you even…" Sora cut her off. He pulled her into a hug. Kairi's stomach twisted. What if this was all an act? She didn't know what to believe anymore…

"Kairi…" his voice sounded a little shaken. Was he… crying?

"I'll tell you anything and everything… just please don't be mad at me anymore… I'll apologize to your brother…" he sobbed, still holding on tightly to her. Kairi didn't know what to say.

"It's hard being popular… everyone expects so much from you, and I know I shouldn't be influenced or care what they think, but… I can't help it sometimes… it's like I'm here to be what _they _want me to be and I hate it…"

"What?" Kairi let go of him. "You let _them _boss you around?"

"I wouldn't say… _boss_…" Sora sniffled.

"Than what? Hmm?" Kairi was getting irritated. She hated people that were influenced badly by others…

"Let's put it this way… there's just so much pressure when you're popular…" Kairi glared at him and started to walk away.

"Hey! Wait!" Sora rushed after her.

"So much pressure, eh?" Kairi could hear herself yelling. She was starting to cry again.

"Kairi… I didn't mean to—"

"There's _so much pressure _when nobody knows your name… there's _so much pressure _when everyone thinks you should be just like them… _there's so much pressure _when you start to believe nobody cares about you and you want to change… there's just too much shit in the air we breathe today!" She screamed. All Sora could do was stare. Kairi wasn't finished.

"Everyone has their own standards… everyone, believe it or not, is afraid of rejection; everyone is afraid to admit fear, _everyone _wants to be loved for who they are, _everyone _wants to let others know that they're aren't just some dumb blonde or some brainy nerd… _everyone _is afraid to be his or herself at one point and time…"

Kairi paused for a moment." But it takes _someone _to stand up and be who they really are…" She couldn't believe what she was saying. "I'm sick of it. I'm sick of everything…" She walked off without another word, leaving Sora there all alone.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N**: Ooo, Sora must've said something wrong… heh…


	26. Take My Picture?

**Chapter 26 – Take My Picture?**

Kairi had to wipe her tears away before she got home so her mother didn't have to question her constantly. She couldn't believe that she just told Sora off like that. It wasn't like her at all. It was actually quite satisfying…

She put on a fake smile and opened the door. She could hear some voices in the kitchen. Kairi entered the kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the table with another man… that wasn't Markus. Maybe it was a friend of hers?

The man had dark brown hair and wore glasses. He was in a business suit. Even if he was sitting down, Kairi could tell that he was a pretty tall guy.

"Kairi… Hun… sit, will you?" Her mother pulled out a chair. What was going on?

"Um…" Kairi took a seat. She looked at the man, and then to her mother.

"This is Shuichi. He's your father." Said her mother. Kairi gasped.

"Wha—what?" Kairi stood up. Shuichi nodded and got to his feet as well. He came over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I've missed you." He gave her a warm smile.

"You…" Kairi began to shake. "You never even knew me!" She yelled and rushed out of the room. Who did he think he was? Did he actually think he could leave before she was born and come back eighteen years later… expecting everything to be all right? Kairi slammed her door and locked it. This day was just getting worse.

"Kairi?" Her mother tapped on the door. Kairi didn't answer. She hid her face in her pillow. First Sora annoying her, now this? She heard her mother say something and then it was silent. Kairi looked up and sighed.

Flashback 

_"Mommy! I have a question…" A young Kairi blurted out at the dinner table. Everyone turned to look at her. _

"Yes, Kairi?"

"Where's daddy?" It took a little while for her mother to answer. She started to say something and then stopped. Kairi looked at her mother strangely. Her brother, Taka suddenly changed the subject.

End of Flashback

"I didn't know back then… but I know now… I knew he left me ever since I turned thirteen…" Kairi sobbed. "He didn't care enough to stay…"

To make matters worse, she found out he was staying for a week. Kairi tried to skip out on dinner just so she wouldn't have to talk with him. She went over to Namine or Selphie's house after school the next dayjust to get away from him.

"So… he just _came back_? Just like that?" Namine asked, pouring some milk in a glass. Kairi nodded.

"It was so weird. It's like… I hate him already…"

"That's normal." Selphie said suddenly. They all looked at her. "Well, if my dad left a long time ago I would've been angry too!" She paused, "But… my dad thinks I'm crazy. So does my mom… she threatens me with a knife!" Selphie grinned. Kairi laughed. She had been there once when Selphie's mother threatened her with a knife. She knew her mother was joking, which was why it was so funny.

"Wow, you're like bi-polar or something, Kairi." Namine giggled. Kairi shrugged and smiled.

"My friends are my true family. It's that simple." The doorbell rang. Namine got up to get it.

"Hey Riku!" Selphie and Kairi said in unison as Namine walked back into the kitchen with him. He waved and headed for the fridge. Selphie and Kairi watched.

"Does he do this often?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah. I don't mind, though." Namine said happily. Selphie went over to Riku.

"It's poison." Selphie pointed to the breadsticks Riku had just put in the microwave. Riku raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"I put cyanide in it so I could feed it to the little birdies in the park this Sunday!" She exclaimed.

"Whatever." Riku took out the breadsticks after they were done heating. He sat down at the table with Namine and Kairi. Selphie came over and took a seat too.

"Remember, I have to study for that Chemistry test tomorrow, so you guys can't stay too long… sorry." Namine apologized.

"Chemistry… ha." Riku munched on a breadstick. "Come on babe, give yourself a break every once in a while." Namine blushed.

"Sora tried to talk with me yesterday." Selphie said randomly.

"Huh? What'd he say?" Kairi asked eagerly.

"He just told me that he misses you so much. That's pretty much it." Selphie shrugged and stole one of Riku's breadsticks. "Hey!" Riku yelled. Kairi sat back in her chair and sighed.

"He… the truth is…" Kairi couldn't finish.

"Huh?" Namine gave her an anxious look.

"Sora talks about you all the time." Riku said casually. "I wish he would shut up sometimes, though."

Kairi didn't say anything. Maybe Sora really did miss her…

"Cheer up, Kairi!" Selphie exclaimed.

"If it makes you feel any better, Cloud is throwing a party tomorrow night." Riku mentioned. Kairi hadn't seen Cloud in weeks, and he lived next door to her. She was such a loser…

"You were invited?" Namine asked. Riku nodded.

"Cloud and I are buddies."

About thirty minutes later, Selphie, Kairi and Riku left Namine's house. Sometimes Kairi thought Namine worked a little too hard, but that was something Kairi lacked at times.

"I have a great idea…" Selphie blurted out as if it was the best thing in the world.

"What?" Riku doubted it was important.

"Let's break our ribs!" She said excitedly. Kairi busted out laughing. Selphie was just so random…

"What the Hell?" Riku sighed. "I'm not even going to ask…" Selphie and Kairi giggled. Riku turned another way and went home.

"Kairi!" Selphie whispered, pulling her to the side and pointing. Kairi looked over and saw Sora sitting on the beach alone.

"You should go talk to him. He misses you." Selphie assured her. However, Kairi didn't know if should could. Confronting Sora after she got extremely pissed at him was kind of weird to her. She wasn't sure why.

"But…" Selphie pushed her and gave thumbs up. Kairi gulped.

Sora was staring at the sand. He seemed to be deep in thought, because he didn't even hear her walking towards him.

"I… just don't get it…" He said aloud. Kairi stopped.

"I love her…"

Kairi's stomach twisted. She covered her mouth so she didn't blurt anything out stupidly.

"Oh, who am I kidding… she'll never love me again… Kairi hates me. I'm nothing but a liar who can't do anything right…"

"That's not true…" Kairi said in a low tone. Sora turned around and gasped.

"How… long have you been standing there?" He asked dumbfounded. Kairi sat next to him.

"Long enough." She hugged him. It was clear. He really did love her…

Sora pulled back a little. "Does… this mean that…" Before he was able to finish his sentence, Kairi kissed him. Sora was pretty shocked at first, but still kissed her back. He smiled goofily.

"Whoa… um… I don't know what to say…" Sora scratched his head.

"I love you." Kairi smiled. Sora's lips touched hers again.

"AWW!" Selphie exclaimed, holding out a camera. She had probably taken hundreds of pictures by now. Kairi got up and chased her around the beach. Sora merely laughed. After about five minutes, she finally gave up. Selphie gave her a huge grin and jumped up and down happily. Kairi turned to Sora.

"So…" She couldn't think of what to say.

"From now on, I swear I will never keep anything from you ever again." Sora held her hands in his. Kairi nodded and squeezed him tightly. She had forgotten all about her father now that Sora was here once again…

--------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N**: Aww, sweet moment… I just had to do it! They made up pretty quickly… hmm…

**Selphie**, holding a camera: SAY CHEESE!

**Me**: HELL NO!

**Selphie**, sniffling: B-But…

**Me**: Go take some more pictures of Sora and Kairi!

**Selphie**, happily: OKAY!


	27. Daughter to Father

**Chapter 27 – Daughter to Father**

Kairi spent the rest of the day with Sora. It was like they had forgotten all about their little argument. Selphie decided to leave them alone and left.

"Gotcha!" Sora popped out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. Kairi giggled. He kissed her cheek. Kairi turned around to face him. The sun was setting and it was starting to get dark. She looked into his aqua blue eyes. He smiled widely, making her blush.

All of a sudden Kairi's cell phone went off. (**A/N**: She's had it the whole time, I swear…) It was her mother.

"Yes mom, I'll be home soon…" She hung up and sighed.

"Aww… I don't want you to leave…" Sora whined. Kairi didn't want to leave either. Her ''father'' was at home, and she didn't want to see him. They got into Sora's car and drove back to her house.

"Oh! Sora, why don't you stay for dinner?" Said Kairi's mother happily. Before Sora or Kairi could refuse, she interrupted them. "Great! Go wash up!" Kairi and Sora exchanged nervous looks. Shuichi walked by and waved. Kairi rolled her eyes and went to the bathroom. Sora stood at the door as Kairi washed her hands.

"I don't believe this…" she said quietly.

"Huh?" Sora asked, beginning to wash his hands too. Kairi knew she had to be quiet about this; she didn't want her dad to hear.

"My father came back. That was him at the door. I don't want to talk to him…"

"Why not?" Sora asked, bewildered.

"He just comes back randomly like that. I hate it." Kairi gave Sora the towel and waited for him to dry his hands before walking into the TV room. She sat down on the couch with him. Koru came into the room.

"What's he doing here?" He asked rudely. Kairi began to speak, but Sora interrupted her.

"Look, Koru. I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to you. I know it's… gonna be hard to forgive me, but if you could… then that would be great…"

Koru eyed him for a while. Kairi looked back and forth, wondering what Koru was going to say. He eventually shrugged.

"So what does that mean?" Sora questioned.

"Fine. But don't ever do anything like that again. That wasn't cool."

"I know." Sora said. "I don't think I'm going to hang out with those two anymore." Kairi looked at him. She was surprised.

"Really?" Sora nodded. Kairi's mother came into the room.

"Dinner!" They all headed into the kitchen. Kairi groaned and clang to Sora. They sat down at the table. Kairi and Sora sat next to each other away from Shuichi. He took a seat at the end of the table, witch Kairi's mother on the other end. Taka and Koru sat down and said grace. They were having spaghetti.

"Shuichi, this is Sora. He's Kairi's boyfriend." Said her mother, introducing him. Sora nodded.

"So… Sora…" Shuichi started. Sora knew he was about to be questioned constantly. He hated when that happened…

"Taka, how was your test today?" Kairi was trying to change the subject and save Sora the effort. Taka raised an eyebrow.

"What test?"

"Oh… um… I thought you had one…" Kairi took a sip of milk.

"I did." Koru said. "I probably failed it." His mother eyed him. Koru laughed. "I'm kidding. I was probably close though." Kairi giggled. Sora smiled a little.

"I'm extremely overwhelmed at how much you children have grown… and I never even met Kairi or Koru… this is my first time. They seem like great kids." Shuichi smiled warmly. Kairi glared at him. She wasn't a kid anymore… but he wouldn't know that…

"Actually, Kairi's eighteen now. Koru will be thirteen—" Koru cut his mother off. "In 17 days!" He exclaimed. That reminded Kairi. The last day of school was in 16 days… one day before her little brother's birthday. She was going to be officially out of high school…

"Wow…" Kairi said aloud without knowing it. Sora rubbed her back.

"So Kairi, what have you been doing lately?" Asked Shuichi, taking a drink. Kairi shrugged. "Hanging out with my friends… and Sora. That's pretty much it." She looked away. There was something strange about him. He was just acting too casual. He'd been acting that way ever since he got here. Kairi wasn't too sure about what to think…

"I'm sorry I didn't come to visit you all earlier. I've been… busy."

"Busy?" Kairi could feel the rage building up again.

"Yeah… well…" Shuichi shrugged, "I've wanted to… I just… couldn't."

"And why not?" Kairi snapped.

"Kairi!" Her mother shouted. Sora tried to calm her down. It wasn't working.

Kairi pushed her chair back and stood up, shaking the entire table. She glared at Shuichi. Sora got up and tried talking to her, but Kairi wasn't listening, surprisingly. Tension was filling the room already. Everyone had their eyes on her.

"Darling, why must you look at me like that?" He was so normal.

"I don't know… what makes you think you can just come back… and suppose that life will just pick up right where it left off…" Kairi beamed, "it's not like that… NOT AROUND HERE!" Kairi ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room. Sora tried to follow, but her mom demanded that he didn't go after her. She wanted Shuichi to speak with Kairi alone. Sora really wanted to comfort Kairi, but he couldn't disobey an adult… could he?

"Please… I—" Sora begged, but she shook her head.

"Let them have a little father and daughter talk. Understood?" She said sternly. Sora sighed heavily and sat back down as he watched Shuichi make his way upstairs. Sora didn't know what was up with Kairi… well he kind of knew, but he just didn't understand it. He would be happy if his father came back… but he knew that could never happen. Maybe Kairi had a different story…

Shuichi knocked on Kairi's door. "GO AWAY!" She screamed from the other side. Kairi was under her covers staring at the wall. Her vision was blurry because of all the tears, so she closed her eyes tightly. Shuichi walked into the room. She wished she had a better lock on her door…

"Kairi… let's talk." He sat down at the edge of her bed. Kairi didn't say anything at first. _'Go away… go away…'_ She repeated over and over in her head.

"Come on…" His hand touched her ankle, and even though it was under the covers it made her jump. She flew up and moved away a little. He was starting to scare her.

"If I explain everything, then will you stop hating me?" Kairi continued to give a defiant stare. He sighed. "This might freak you out a little bit, but I must tell you, I'm a different person now. I swear." Kairi didn't say anything. What was he talking about?

"I've been in jail for fifteen years."

"What?" Kairi was shocked. "What for?"

"I…" He paused, "I used to be a peeping tom."

"EEW!" Kairi shrieked. She moved to the other side of the room. Kairi was trembling. Her father was a maniac…

"But after being in jail for fifteen years, I've learned my lesson! And I missed my children…" He stood up. Kairi was leaning against the wall. Something wasn't right… and it was killing her…

"Kairi…" He set his hands on her shoulders. Kairi was paralyzed from being so frightened. He had a strange glow in his eyes and… he was smirking! He lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Darling… now this won't hurt…" All of a sudden, Kairi screamed. She pushed him away from her. He fell back on the bed as Kairi rushed for the door. However, he was too quick and grabbed her arm. She cried out, begging for him to let go. This wasn't happening… her own father was trying to rape her!

"Cooperate…" He put his hand over her mouth and squeezed her arms tightly behind her back. Kairi didn't know what to do. She couldn't break free of his grip. She tried to kick him, but he only threatened her more.

"LET GO OF HER!" The door busted open. Sora tackled Shuichi to the floor and started to strangle him. Kairi's mother screamed and held on tightly to her daughter. Shuichi threw Sora off of him and punched his face. Sora fell to the ground. Just before Shuichi was able to hit him again, Sora did what came to his mind first and poked him in the eyes. Shuichi flew back.

"Sora! Please, stop!" Kairi couldn't stand it. She didn't want Sora to get hurt…

However, he wasn't listening. It was like Sora was a completely different person. He grabbed an empty vase nearby and smashed it on Shuichi's head. Kairi wrapped her arms around Sora's stomach and sobbed.

"No more! That's enough!" Sora took deep breaths. He had knocked Shuichi out. Pieces of glass flooded the floor, along with blood. Sora fell to his knees.

"Oh Kairi…" Sora hugged her tightly. Kairi's mother came over to them and hugged them both at the same time. Kairi couldn't stop crying. She didn't know how long her father would be unconscious for, but as long as things were silent, it was okay at least for that moment. Sora's knees were bleeding from falling on all of the glass, but he didn't seem to notice. Police rushed into the room as Taka and Koru appeared at the door.

"He's unconscious," one of the policemen told the other. They put Shuichi on a stretcher. Kairi's mother went downstairs to talk with them.

"Don't worry, she won't tell that you did it." Kairi said, leaning her head on Sora's shoulder. Sora merely nodded. He was still silent. Kairi saw a tear run down his cheek. She held onto him even tighter.

"You know… it sort of reminded me… of _my_ stepfather…" He said aloud.

----------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N**: Wow, Kairi's father is one freaky mofo.

**Kairi**: I'll say… good thing my real father is nothing like that…

**Me**: Mine too.

**Sora**: When are you going to work on the next chapter? I hear there will be hot, steamy sex in it!

**Kairi**: WHAT THE HELL?

**Me**: Who told you that?

**Sora**: …IT'S A DREAM!

**Me**: Oh geeze… must I remind you this story is rated T?


	28. Unbelievable

**A/N:** WOOHOO! I am back again to bring you yet another chapter!

**Sora**: Didn't you like that Mulan movie?

**Me**: That's off the subject...

**Sora**: So...?

**Me**: Anyway, enjoy!

**Sora**: When you say that, it really makes me laugh... especially with this chapter...

**Me**, twitching: Just shut up...

**Chapter 28 – Unbelievable**

Kairi's mother actually allowed Sora to spend the night. It came as quite a shock to her, but Kairi couldn't complain. To make things even better, her mother was going to let them stay home from school the next day.

"Are you… serious?" Kairi asked, still not believing it. Her mother nodded and closed the door. The policemen had just left. Cloud came over.

"Whoa, what happened? I looked out my window and there were police cars in your driveway!" Cloud exclaimed. He saw the scratches and bruises all over Sora. Taka and Koru walked into the room, each with depressing looks on their faces. Kairi tried to speak, but words wouldn't come to her. She didn't want to be reminded of what just happened. She headed for the bathroom while Taka told Cloud.

Kairi shut the door. Her eyes were dried out from all the tears. That was truly a terrifying experience. She had always wanted to know at least who her father was, but now she wished that she had never found out. Not only that, this occurrence had scarred her for life. She didn't feel safe…

"I'm so hopeless…" Kairi leaned against the door. She eventually fell to the floor and stared at the ceiling. There was a knock. She heard Sora's voice.

"Kairi? You okay?"

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine…" she lied.

"Well, I'm going home to get a few things… I'll be back, okay? I love you."

"Okay…" Kairi hit herself on the forehead. She heard him walk off. Rising to her feet, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Kairi noticed a little bit of blood on her shoulder and immediately washed it off. Her hair was messed up and she had a bruise on her arm from where he had grabbed her. Kairi looked away. Honestly, she was sickened at herself… and her father. She never wanted to see him again.

Kairi turned off the light and came out of the bathroom. Cloud was sitting on the couch with Koru playing a video game.

_'How could they play games at a time like this?'_ she thought to herself, but got over it.

"Kairi? May I see you in the kitchen?" Her mother called. Kairi entered the kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the table. She took a seat next to her and waited.

"I'm… sorry, dear. I thought he changed."

"Nobody can change…" Kairi said coldly. "No matter how hard they tried, they still always have part of their past inside them." Kairi wasn't sure if that made sense, but she wasn't really thinking at the moment.

"I thought after eighteen years, he would've been…" She sighed. "I don't know. He was never the _best _guy… I don't even know why I married him. You see, when I first met him, he was so wonderful. I knew he had a few anger problems, but I didn't let that stop me from loving him. However, when I gave birth to Taka, he proposed to me and we got married. In that span of two years, he was like a different person." She paused. "A _very _different person…" Kairi's eyes widened. Why did this remind her of Sora's family?

"When he found out I was pregnant with you, he just got up and left. I never understood why… and then he got in trouble with the cops…"

"I know," Kairi interrupted, "he was a peeping tom. I'm ashamed."

Her mother stared at her for a while and then nodded her head. "He was a good man… before I married him…"

Markus rushed into the room. Kairi's mother got up and hugged him, dismissing her from the kitchen. Kairi went up to her room. She put on some shoes so she wouldn't step in all the glass that was still on the floor. She grabbed her pajamas and went to take a shower.

After about fifteen minutes, Kairi had just stepped out of the shower when her mother was calling her again.

"Kairi, Sora's here!"

Strangely, there wasn't too much excitement in hearing that. She just wasn't in the mood. Kairi took the blow dryer and dried her hair. This took about another fifteen minutes. After she was done, she made her way downstairs. Everyone was in the TV room. Cloud had left, but now Sora had taken his place and was playing against Koru. They both looked up at her when she walked into the room.

"Hey Kairi, your boyfriend's not so bad when he's not being an asshole!" Koru exclaimed, winning for the third time in a row. Kairi decided to excuse that comment and sat next to Sora. They kissed. Sora handed the controller back to Koru and stood up to stretch. He then reached his hand out. Kairi took it and they went into the kitchen.

"Are you hungry?" Kairi asked, looking in the fridge. The kitchen was empty; her mother and Markus were probably outside somewhere. Sora came behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He rested his head on her shoulder.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear. For the first time in hours, Kairi smiled.

"I love you too." She said back, turning around to face him. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Do you feel better?" Sora asked softly, running his fingers through her hair. Kairi nodded. "Yes… now that you're here…"

"Whoa, no sex in the kitchen." Taka said as he turned on a light. Kairi rolled her eyes. Sora laughed and held her closer. It was quiet for a while. Taka seated himself at the table and turned on the TV. Obviously there was nothing on, because he groaned and turned it right back off. Kairi and Sora went out into the backyard. Scruffy followed. They sat on the swinging chair (**A/N**: Whatever you call it…) together and stared into the sky.

"I haven't looked at the stars in a while…" Sora said, taking Kairi's hand in his. He sounded a bit unemotional about it.

"Sora?"

"Yeah?" He looked at her.

"What was it like… to have a real father?"

Sora didn't respond at first. "I'm sorry…" Kairi said anxiously, but he shook his head.

"It… was great… he was always there for me. We did everything together…" Sora shrugged. "I guess he was like a best friend… him and I shared this bond that not many guys share with their fathers. I feel a little weird for saying that, but it's true." He looked up at the sky again. "And then… my parents started fighting, and he left. I found out he died a little bit after that in a car wreck, but I think I've told you that before."

"Yeah… you have…" Kairi held on tighter.

"But," he said, "It's all in the past. I just have to deal with the consequences of the present now and hope that things get better for me." He stared into Kairi's eyes. "And they have… since I met you." Kairi's face reddened.

"Really?"

"Yup. Man… I used to just go from girl to girl… but ever since I started going out with you, not once did I even think about breaking up. We've had our problems… that we've gotten through together… and in the shortest time too…heh…" His smile faded. "But… there's something I haven't told you yet that might… disturb you a bit…"

Kairi noticed Sora was staring at the ground now. His eyes were lowered and he didn't look too happy. He had pulled his hand out of hers and leaned over. Kairi rubbed his back gently, wondering what he could possibly be hiding.

"Okay… please note that this was two or three years ago when I didn't know any better and we never even met…" He let out a heavy sigh.

"All right…" Kairi said. She could sense that this was going to be bad.

"I'm not sure how to tell you this…" He began. Sora sat up and looked into her eyes. "Just recently… I found out that I might be the father of my ex's child…"

Kairi's eyes widened. "WHAT?"

"Eh...It… gets worse… you see, the ex I'm talking about… is Tifa…"

"No… no!" Kairi rose to her feet.

"Kairi! This was a long time ago! Plus, I don't know if the child is mine or not… but yes, I did sleep with her…"

"No surprise on her part…" Kairi said coldly.

"I know. It was a mistake. I thought I was in love at the time. I was stupid." He sighed and put his hands in his pockets. Kairi started to tremble. What if Sora really was the father?

"I mean… there's a lot of other guys that could be the father, aren't there?" Sora nodded. "Oh yeah, tons. However, for some reason, I just can't stop getting the feeling that I have the highest chance…" He paused. "But if I am that kid's father, than I'm going to have to be in his life. There's no doubt about it. I could stay away from Tifa, but… yeah…"

"I understand…" Kairi said sadly. Sora hugged her. "I'm sorry… my life is extremely complicated…" There was a prolonged silence.

"…Whose isn't?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

**Me**: Sora, you never cease to amaze me. Seriously.

**Sora**, pouting: It's not my fault! She came onto me first!

**Kairi**: WHAT?

**Sora**: TWO YEARS AGO!

**Me**, sighing: Oy… anyway, can Kairi handle this? Is Sora really the father?

**Sora**: You know, this sounds like an episode of…

**Me**: SILENCE!

**Sora**: I was just saying!


	29. Memory Lane

**Chapter 29 – Memory Lane**

Kairi slept downstairs since her room was still a mess. They were going to clean it up tomorrow while her mother and brothers went off to school and left them home alone. Sora insisted that Kairi slept on the couch while he was on the floor. Kairi disagreed for a while, but eventually gave in.

It was hard for her to get to sleep that night. After all that had happened that day, it was hard to not think of all the pain. She kept wondering why her father would do something like that to her, especially since he had just met her for the first time. It was going on eleven o clock. Sora was sound asleep down on the floor next to her. Kairi tried to close her eyes.

_"Cooperate…" He put his hand over her mouth and squeezed her arms tightly behind her back. Kairi didn't know what to do. She couldn't break free of his grip. She tried to kick him, but he only threatened her more._

Kairi's eyes suddenly opened. It was three in the morning. She looked down at Sora, who was still sleeping. Kairi pulled the covers off of her and went to the bathroom. She quietly closed the door. After about five minutes, she came out. Sora was awake now; he must've heard her get up.

"Are you okay?" He whispered, taking her into his arms. Kairi nodded.

"I'm sorry for waking you up… I didn't mean to…"

"It's all right. Really." They sat down on the couch. Kairi let out a big yawn. Seeing this, Sora stood up and told her to lay down. Kairi decided not to argue and did so. He put the covers back over her and kissed her forehead. He gave her a warm smile as he lay back down on the floor.

"It's hard to sleep…" She admitted. Sora looked up at her anxiously.

"I know… just try, okay?" Kairi nodded slowly. She knew though, that she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. No wonder her mother let her stay home from school the next day…

Morning came. Kairi had only gotten probably about two hours of sleep. Koru had already left for school; he had a field trip that he didn't want to miss. Taka usually slept until the afternoon on Tuesdays, so it would be a while before he woke up. Kairi's mother worked at four in the morning, so she was already gone. Kairi went into the kitchen and started to make some breakfast.

She decided to cook some bacon and eggs. Kairi loved bacon. It always made her feel better for some reason. However, she had to make sure she saved some for Sora, even if she kind of didn't want to. There were very few things she was selfish about, and bacon was one of them. It was kind of weird, but oh well.

"Good morning," Sora came in yawning. She kissed him and sat down at the table.

"There's a plate for you over there." Kairi said.

"Oh, thanks." Sora seated himself next to her. He was still a little out of it. Kairi guessed he was always like this in the morning.

"Sorry, I'm still pretty tired." Sora said. "This bacon is good."

"Thanks." Kairi blushed. "I like cooking."

"Awesome."

After they were done eating, Kairi decided she would wash dishes later. Sora volunteered, but she refused. He didn't have to do any work around here; it wasn't his house.

The rest of the day went exceptionally well. Sora made her laugh so hard that she nearly fell over. Time seemed to pass quicker than Kairi expected, and soon it was time for him to head on home. Kairi wanted him to stay… but there wasn't much she could do to stop him from leaving. The night before Kairi's mother made it clear that Sora must go home by three, or else they would both be in big trouble. She kissed him passionately for a couple minutes before he got into his car and drove away.

Namine and Selphie called her on three way about thirty minutes later. Kairi explained to them what happened after much begging. Namine invited everyone to her house. Kairi left a note on the refrigerator and went over there. Namine met her at the door and hugged her tightly. Selphie arrived shortly after that.

"I don't believe it!" Namine exclaimed. Kairi merely shrugged.

"Sora made me feel better… so… yeah. I'd just like to forget about it."

It was quiet for a few minutes. Namine decided to say something.

"You know… we're graduating in a couple weeks…" That was random.

"Yeah… it's all gone by so fast…" Kairi added.

"Hey…" Selphie said out of nowhere, "remember when I used to live across the street from you, Kairi?" Kairi nodded. "Well, remember that time we found that dead bird and buried it in the backyard?"

Namine raised an eyebrow. Kairi laughed. She had known Selphie since 2nd grade. Back then when Selphie lived across from her, Kairi would be over at her house all the time. Kairi and Namine didn't start talking until 6th grade, or at least that's what Kairi remembers.

"You were my best friend in Kindergarten, Kairi." Namine said. Kairi always felt bad when Namine said that because she didn't remember her back then. Kindergarten was a very complicated year for her—medically. All she can remember is her teacher taking care of her instead of Kairi being considered a special needs student.

"And that time where you and I tried to make a salad out of grass and leaves!" Selphie exclaimed.

"Oh! I remember that!" Kairi giggled. "And what about that one card game we used to play all the time… hmm, I can't remember the name of it…but they were cute little animals, and there were so many of them, I couldn't collect all of them!" Kairi thought for a moment. Selphie and Namine shrugged, not having a clue either.

"Remember your crush on _Darien_?" (**A/N**: **cough** Sailor Moon **cough**) Selphie teased.

"Shut up!" Namine hit her. Her face went red.

"What about back in our Freshmen year," Namine said to Kairi, "when we had Mr. Boivert for our S.T.A.R.S teacher?" (**A/N**: It's a stupid class about taking notes and crap… all freshmen must take it… ugh…) Kairi nodded. "Mhm. He was so crazy!"

"In 3rd grade I used to act out that Anastasia movie with you, remember?" Kairi asked Namine.

"Oh yeah! That was fun! We knew like… all the words!" Namine responded.

"And all of Yuffie's birthday parties… too bad we're not friends anymore." Kairi shrugged. Those were actually really fun. They did stupid stuff most the time and got it on tape.

"I can recall how I met Yuffie." Namine said. "It was 6th grade. I was just sitting there, then all of a sudden she just turns around and says hi to me. It was weird. We were friends ever since… until now at least."

"Kairi, remember when you had a crush on _Fumiya_, but you couldn't choose between him and his brother because you couldn't decide which twin was cuter?" Selphie giggled. (**A/N**: TRUE STORY! Yuya's hair was longer…hehe) "Oh yeah… how could I forget… Heh. They both thought I was crazy." Kairi didn't really care anymore, because she had Sora now.

"Oh, and that story Mr. Hodges told in 9th grade about the Mexican chick that came into his classroom drunk asking him if he wanted a taco…" Namine laughed.

"Was that the story where she took a few desks and laid on top of them naked during class?" Selphie asked, amazed. Namine nodded. "And it was funny as hell, too when he told us. He got to see her taco all right...Thank goodness I didn't actually see it…"

"Same here." Selphie and Kairi agreed.

"And Ms. Sherry in 7th grade… how we would go to the middle school dances and call her Mr. Grinch!" Kairi blurted out. "I feel kind of bad about it now though."

"Oh my Gosh, Mrs. Harrison!" Namine covered her face with her hands and then looked back up. "She almost threw a desk!"

"Seriously?" Selphie was shocked.

"Yeah. That was in 7th grade too."

"I used to pretend to poke the little kids, but freak out every time I did it. For some reason they were so fascinated by it…" Selphie gave a strange look.

"That was funny. I did that to my little cousin. She laughed." Kairi said.

"You know, as you go through life, you find out who you are as a person… and who your real friends are. You two have been with me all this time, and we're still the best of friends. I've lost a lot, but I've gained a lot more. To me, love and friendship are the best things anyone could ask for." Kairi said, laughing a little at herself for some reason. "And who knows where the future will take us, but let's promise to always keep in touch no matter where we go, okay?"

Namine and Selphie nodded. "We promise! You're our best friend too, Kairi!"

"I love you guys!" They all hugged each other.

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**A/N**: Every single event that they were remembering all happened to me, so HA! I have a bad memory most the time, so bleh.

**Sora**: So there's only two or three more chapters?

**Me**: Sadly, yes.

**Kairi**: But this has been so much fun!

**Me**: Don't worry! I'll make a sequel… when I get around to it…


	30. Yearbook Signing

**A/N:** Gomen Nasai for the awaited update… heh… I had a small writer's block! ****

Chapter 30 – Yearbook Signing

At school, it was finally time to get Yearbooks. Kairi always bought a yearbook because of the many memories it held. She's had yearbooks since Kindergarten. Now that it was her final year, she knew that she would be writing a lot in other people's yearbooks.

They weren't supposed to get them until fourth period, so Kairi was a bit impatient throughout the day. Seniors weren't having 5th or 6th period because they always got out of class for yearbook signing an hour earlier than all of the underclassmen. Exams were coming too, so it was a long and boring first few hours of the day. All they did was review, review, and review. Kairi wanted to fall asleep in Spanish class, because she didn't need any of this.

Fourth period came, and it was time to pass out yearbooks. Kairi took hers happily. It was black and gold with "Class of '07's Destiny" written on it. So it was a little corny, but Kairi didn't come up with it. She had her name inscribed on the cover up in the top right corner with a drama club symbol and a soccer ball on either side of it. Kairi opened the book and looked through it. She actually liked her senior picture; she was wearing a pretty pink top with a skirt and white tank top under it. She was smiling too, which was a big surprise because Kairi didn't like smiling in her pictures. She saw Sora's picture. He looked so perfect. He had that goofy smile of his and wore a black and red outfit.

Selphie was leaning against a tree and staring out into the sky in her picture. It was pretty weird, considering Selphie was usually jumpy, so Kairi was expecting a big grin. However, there was much despair and hope in her picture. Namine did the traditional type picture with a blue background.

Sora met up with Kairi on their way outside to the stadium. They kissed and he put his arm around her.

"You're going to sign my book, okay?" Sora said happily. Kairi nodded. She didn't think they really needed to sign each other's books, but oh well. Might as well anyway.

"Okay," she laughed nervously. She heard Selphie and Namine calling after her.

"Kairi! Wait up!" They caught up to Kairi and Sora. Everyone entered the stadium and started to spread out on the bleachers signing yearbooks and taking pictures. A bunch of girls came up to Sora and begged him to sign their book. He laughed and did so as he leaned his head on Kairi's shoulder. That made Kairi feel special.

_'I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!' _Selphie wrote in her yearbook. _'You've been a great friend and I SWEAR THAT IF WE EVER LOSE TOUCH I WILL KILL YOU!' _Kairi raised an eyebrow. She took Selphie's book and thought of what to write.

_'Even if the future fails, the memories are always right… no matter how good or bad."_ She signed her name.

A lot of other people that were only acquaintances signed Kairi's yearbook.

Namine wrote, _'Kairi, you have always been a great friend to me and I hope that it will always stay that way no matter where the future takes us… signed, Namine. I'm going to miss you so much!'_ She drew a chibi anime picture under it giving the peace sign.

About an hour passed and the underclassmen made their way outside. Kairi groaned at the thought and moved up to the very top of the bleachers.

"Kairi! I've been looking all over for you!" Sora sat down next to her. She smiled at him and started to read what people put in her book. 

"It's just… gone by so fast…" Kairi was about to cry. Sora put his arm around her.

"Yeah… it has… I can't believe it."

Kairi saw a bunch of phone numbers written in her book from people she barely ever talked to. Sora opened his and looked through it too. He had tons of phone numbers. 

"Man, don't these people know that I'll never call them anyway?" Sora joked.

"If I wasn't your girlfriend I would say that was mean." She giggled.

"Heh, yeah well…" Sora's face reddened. Selphie and Namine came up to them.

"Man… you won't believe what's going on over there!" Namine seemed exhausted. Kairi and Sora looked down at the bottom of the bleachers. There was a huge crowd surrounding a junior Kairi knew. Tidus and Wakka were messing with him.

"What the Hell?" Sora stood up.

"That's Taichi. He made a list called _North Destiny's Biggest Jokes_… and now everyone is going insane about it!" Selphie shrieked. "Sora, I heard you were the first person on that list, too!"

"What? He doesn't even know me!"

"Who else was on there?" Kairi asked anxiously.

"I was." Namine said.

"You were too, Kairi!" Selphie blurted out.

"Oh, hell no!" Sora made his way down to the crowd. Kairi chased after him. She knew he was getting pissed, and was probably about to start something even worse. She grabbed his hand.

"Sora! What are you doing?" She didn't let go.

"I'm going to teach him a lesson!" Sora yelled.

The crowd got bigger and bigger. Many people were shouting insults left and right. Taichi was in the middle covering his ears. From what Kairi saw, he looked like he was crying. She watched as some of the Blitzball players kicked him. This wasn't right… none of it was…

"It was a JOKE!" Taichi screamed.

"A joke, eh?" Michael said, crossing his arms. Michael was on the list too.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Kairi yelled, letting go of Sora's hand and covering her face with her hands. Sora looked back and forth from the crowd to Kairi, trying to make up his mind on what he was going to do. Before he could do anything though, the principal along with a bunch of policemen and administrators broke the crowd up. Sora sat next to Kairi and comforted her. Namine and Selphie joined.

"He was wrong…" Sora said softly, trying to wipe her tears away.

"And you were about to be wrong by going after him!" Kairi screamed. Sora was taken back a little, but just sighed.

"Honestly, I don't know what that kid's problem was with all those people on the list… especially with _me_, because I'm supposed to be invisible, remember?" Kairi didn't know what she was saying. "I bet he doesn't know one thing about anyone he put on that list!"

"Kairi! Calm down!"

"I can't! Everyone is so stupid nowadays… nobody cares about anyone… and that's how it will always be! We're living in a cruel world…"

"When you say _nobody _cares about _anyone_," Sora started, "that must mean I don't care about you, which is completely wrong, because I love you more than anything in the world! Maybe I was pissed off earlier, but I'll get over it. Everyone will eventually."

"I want everyone to return to their 6th period classes immediately." The principal's voice came over the intercom. A bunch of administrators escorted everyone out of the stadium one by one. This was embarrassing…

"Hey Kairi," Sora said as they entered the school, "could I see your yearbook?" Kairi nodded and gave it to him. He took out a pen and started to write.

"Promise you won't read it until you get home, okay?" Kairi gave him a strange look.

"Okay."

He gave it back to her before she walked into her math class and he went up the hall. They hugged and kissed.

Kairi was curious. What did Sora write? Surely it was nothing he couldn't have told her to her face. However, she decided to keep the promise. Besides, they only had fifteen minutes left of class anyway.

When Kairi got home, she set her backpack down in her room and looked for Sora's handwriting. She had so many signatures in there that it was hard to find it. Finally, she spotted it.

_Kairi,_

When I wrote your name in the sand, a wave came and I thought the ocean had washed it away. However, when I turned to look, it was still there, completely untouched…

I love you with all my heart and more,  
Sora Kiyamoto

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**A/N**: What a bipolar chapter… geeeze…

**Kairi**: I KNEW IT! YOU'RE BIPOLAR!

**Me**: SHUT UP! I AM NOT! Ooo, cupcake! 

__


	31. Exams

**Me**: Sora, what is the definition of a fanfic?

**Sora**: Why?

**Me**: JUST TELL ME!

**Sora**, _opening a dictionary_: Let's see… fanfic. **Noun**. A story that uses characters from video games, anime, TV shows, books, etc. where the author writes _their own version_ of the original story. Characters may be OOC, or whatever else the author wants them to be. The author must acknowledge that they do not own these characters, or the original plot of the story.

**Me**: Ah, isn't that the JOY of fanfiction?

**Sora**, rubbing his head: I… guess…

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**Chapter 31 -- Exams**

Kairi felt like crying. He was so sweet, even at the worst of times. She had to call him; or better yet, just go over there. She decided visiting was better, especially since it was Friday and she didn't have any homework to do. Kairi had gotten all of her semester projects finished, so she didn't have to worry about them either. It took her forever to write the three essays for English…

She got on her bike and rode down the street. She hadn't ridden her bike for the longest time, so she was surprised that she still knew how. Kairi stopped in front of Sora's house. She went up to the door and knocked.

"Who are you?" A grouchy woman answered. Guessing that this was his mother, Kairi smiled.

"I'm here for Sora… is he—" Before she could finish, Sora came to the door.

"Oh, hey babe." He was still in his uniform. Kairi giggled. He let her inside. It had been a while since she had come here, so it felt a little strange at first. Saito wasn't home for once, and who knew where Sora's stepfather was. His mother was smoking in the living room, so Kairi just stayed away from her. Sora smelled a little like smoke too. Kairi shuddered at the thought of Sora with a cigarette, even though he did smoke occasionally. They went up to his room.

"Your mother doesn't mind?" Kairi asked shyly. Sora shook his head. "She doesn't care." He shut the door.

"I read what you wrote… it was sweet." Kairi blushed.

"Thanks. I can be pretty… poetic at times. It's weird." Sora shrugged. Kairi came up to him and kissed his lips.

"There's nothing _weird _about it." She whispered in his ear. "I like it."

She waited in his room as Sora went into the bathroom to change. Kairi looked around his room. He had some pictures on top of his desk from France and some that Selphie took. Kairi picked them up and flipped through. Sora came out of the bathroom.

"Oh, I was meaning to show you those." He stood next to her. Kairi saw a picture of her and Sora in front of the Eiffel Tower. They both looked so happy…

"You can have any one you want."

"Just one?" Kairi giggled.

"Well, you know what I mean." He reached into his drawer and pulled out a rectangle-shaped box. "Hey, Kairi?"

"Yes?" She looked over at him. Sora had his hands behind his back. Kairi set the pictures down on the desk and gave him her full attention.

"I want to give you this." He opened the box and revealed a beautiful golden necklace with a matching star at the end of the chain. Kairi gasped. Sora put it around her neck as he lifted her hair up.

"You're so beautiful…" Sora said as she turned back around. Kairi's face reddened as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you…" Kairi leaned her head against his chest.

"I love you too." He responded, holding tightly onto her. He didn't want to let her go.

- - -

Monday came around, and it was time for exams. Kairi only had to take two of her exams; English and Math. Since English was her 1st period, she had to go in on Monday morning. She made a B in the first 9 weeks of the 2nd semester, so she had to take the exam. At her school, if you make A's in a class throughout the entire second semester, you were exempt from the exam. Of course she wasn't going to pass Math with an A or even a B… so she had to take that one of the last day of school—Wednesday.

Kairi was pretty surprised with the rest of her grades. She had made A's in the other four classes without any trouble. This year was coming to a close… and it passed quicker than she knew it.

Namine didn't have to take any of her exams. She aced the 12th grade. Selphie and Sora had to take the Spanish exam, but Kairi didn't. The only ones Sora got out of were Gym, (**A/N**: Yes, there is one) Math, and Ecology. Kairi got to see them both that morning. She hid her necklace under her uniform since it was against the school rules.

"I can't believe Namine doesn't have to be here at all!" Selphie whined.

"I know… she's so smart…" Kairi sighed.

"What are you talking about? You both are pretty smart." Sora complimented. Selphie groaned and Kairi just blushed.

"Hey Sora." It was Tifa. Kairi glared.

"What do you want now?"

"I need to talk with you after school." She said, smiling.

"He won't go!" Kairi yelled. Sora ignored her. He knew why Tifa wanted to talk with him.

"What time?" He questioned, making Kairi gasp.

"Right after school. It won't take too long." Tifa walked off.

"Sora!" Kairi couldn't believe it.

"Don't worry about it." He gave her a wide smile as if it was nothing. The bell rang. Kairi said goodbye to him. How was she going to concentrate on her exam now? Tifa wanted to _talk with him_… privately… who knows what she would do! Despite all of that… Kairi trusted Sora… didn't she?

_'Sora would never go back out with her…' _Kairi was thinking the worst now. Mrs. Rogers started to explain what was on the exam. They had an hour to study.

Kairi couldn't stay focused. It was quiet. Everyone was trying to get some last minute studying or essays done. The intercom came on.

"Those with B lunch are now dismissed for a bathroom break."

Time must've gone by quicker than she thought, because people were getting up all around her. It had already been an hour? Kairi went to the bathroom and came back. Mrs. Rogers pulled her aside.

"I know you'll do well on this test, Kairi. Don't overwork yourself, now." She smiled at her and walked back to her desk.

The exam was pretty easy. Kairi couldn't believe she even had to take it. Soon it was time for 2nd period exams to start, and for her to go home. She decided to stop by the Spanish room really quickly to say bye to Sora and Selphie. They weren't there yet, and if she didn't get out of school before the next bell, she would have to stay. Kairi went ahead and walked home.

Her and Sora both had the day off on Tuesday. Wednesday's math exam was pretty difficult for Kairi, but she thinks she at least got a C on it. As long as she passed it… she was fine. The bell rang...

And school was officially over…

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**A/N**: Hmm, what did Tifa talk to him about? Why didn't Sora tell her yet? Find out in the final chapter…

**Kairi**, whining: FINAL?

**Me**, nodding: Yes, final… saigo… whatever you want to say…

**Sora**: This story is in English, not Japanese…

**Me**, jamming to Venus by TxT: Huh? What? (Ask if you don't know)


	32. Graduation

**Chapter 32 -- Graduation**

Graduation Day was the 26th. Kairi spent those last few days with Namine, Selphie, and Sora. Koru's birthday was that Thursday, so Kairi begged him if they could come over for that. Koru finally accepted. He had about ten friends coming over for a birthday party anyway, so Kairi didn't want to be annoyed by a bunch of thirteen year olds. (**A/N**: No offense to any 13 year olds reading this!)

Sora arrived with Selphie, and Namine was a little late. Koru and his friends were in the backyard. Markus and Kairi's mother had set up balloons that Koru was complaining about.

"That must be embarrassing." Namine laughed.

They all had cake and ice-cream, watched as Koru opened some presents, and then sat around as the boys played with the new presents. Kairi, Sora, Namine, and Selphie decided to go to the beach once her mother allowed them to.

They walked along the shore; Sora and Kairi's hands locked. Namine threw some old seashells into the water out of boredom and Selphie was singing a random song to herself.

"Sing with me, Kairi!" Selphie begged. Kairi's face reddened. She didn't want Sora to hear her sing… she was too embarrassed. But once Namine joined in on the singing, she decided she might as well too.

"Whoa…" Sora said under his breath. He thought Kairi had a beautiful voice, one of the best he's ever heard. After the girls were done singing, they laughed. Sora laughed with them. Kairi felt a lot better. They took a seat in the sand.

"So where are you guys going to college?" Selphie asked.

"I'm going to try getting into Twilight University." Namine said shyly.

"You can get in anywhere!" Selphie said. "Anyway, I'm thinking about going to South Destiny College."

"Honestly," Kairi started, "I don't know what I'm going to do. I've always doubted going to college because I never thought I could get into one…" She stared at the sand. Sora looked at her.

"Nonsense, Kairi. You made good grades…" Sora thought for a moment. "I'm going to the college here. It's all I can afford. My parents won't pay for anything."

Kairi felt sort of strange around them since she was the only one who didn't know if she wanted to go to college or not. She had always felt like she had to do something else in life… since she wasn't normal, why live a normal life? But then again, college _could _help her in making more money…

_'One who lives for money must not have a life at all…'_ Kairi remembered her mother's words. She told her that a couple years ago.

"Kairi, doesn't your pen pal live in Twilight Town?" Namine asked.

She nodded. "Yeah! Oh my goodness… I haven't written her in forever!"

"That's why I never got a pen pal." Selphie said. "I would be too lazy to write them back."

"At least you're honest…" Kairi sighed.

- - -

The 26th came. Kairi put on her golden robe with the matching hat. Her hair had grown almost down to her waist. Kairi's mother made her wear makeup for Graduation. There was no getting out of it either.

"I can't believe you're going to record the ENTIRE graduation…" Kairi whined.

"I won't." Said her mother. "I'm only recording the beginning, you, Sora, Namine, and Selphie. It would be a waste of film." She smiled. Markus came up to her.

"This is my only line in the entire story." He grinned. Kairi raised an eyebrow. She just heard that Markus and her mother were to get married that July, and truthfully, she didn't really mind. Markus was so quiet and reserved. He also had a pretty good job.

Graduation was held in North Destiny College's gym. There were over two thousand people there, which made Kairi a little nervous. The gym was huge. The bleachers were on the second floor all around it. The principal and some administrators put all the students in alphabetical order and showed them to their seats. There were approximately 314 seniors in the class of 2007.

Kairi was nowhere near any of her friends. Selphie was sitting somewhere in the back and Namine was in the middle. Sora was on the other side where she could barely see him. The only other bad thing about where Kairi was sitting was the fact that Tifa sat right behind her. Strangely though, Tifa didn't say a word to her.

"Welcome parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, neighbors, and everyone else to the Class of 2007 Graduation Ceremony." The principal started to give a long speech. Kairi almost tuned out as he was talking, but eventually came back to reality.

They started to call names, and Kairi watched as the first row got up and stood in a line. She was in the third row. It was only a matter of time before she walked across that stage and that her high school career was officially over as she knew it. She started to think about what she was going to do after this day. Was she going to return home and take a few months off, or was she going to take an entire year off before heading to college?

The administrator called for her row to stand and move over to the side of the gym. Kairi looked at her mother. She was crying. Kairi didn't want to start crying, so she looked away.

Walking across the stage wasn't as scary as she thought it would be. All she did was grab her diploma, shake a few hands, and then walk off on the other side. What a relief it was that she didn't have to make a speech unlike some other people that decided to do so… like Sora…

Sora held the mic in his hand and cleared his throat. He winked at Kairi, making her blush. She could tell he wasn't afraid of making a speech to all these people.

"First of all, without my teachers and my friends, I would have never gotten where I am today." The crowd cheered. "I would also like to thank my girlfriend, Kairi. I love her very much and I would do anything for her." Kairi blushed and sank down in her seat. One of the administrators whispered something in his ear.

"It's not like you just won an award or something…" Sora turned away from her.

"Oh, but this is an award. No, more like an honor. Every single one of you here today sitting in those chairs should be proud that you were able to get over all the hardships high school… and school in general had in store for you. You knew it wasn't going to be easy, but you stuck with it anyway. When you step out of this gym, you will be stepping into a completely different world. I've done a lot of thinking throughout the years… like where I'm going to go, what I'm going to be, etc. and I think I've figured it out. I just hope that every single one of you know what you're going to do with your life, and I wish the best for everyone in here.

"High school was full of new experiences, challenges, and even heartbreaks. I won't get into my personal life, but I'm glad that I was able to get through them. I was able to pass high school, and right now as we speak, I'm applying to get into this college. Have a wonderful life everyone. That's all." He handed the mic back to the principal and walked off the stage. Everyone cheered. Kairi rose from her seat and ran to hug him. Sora hugged her back and kissed her.

"I love you!" Kairi exclaimed. Tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks.

"I don't know where I'd be without you…" He said back, holding on even tighter.

- - -

After all the names were called, Selphie, Namine, Kairi and Sora all stood in a group and took tons of pictures. Kairi's mother, Markus, and Koru came down to the gym floor. It was crowded.

"Sora, that was sweet of you to make that speech!" Her mother exclaimed, holding out the camera. Sora laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks…"

Yuffie came over to them. There was an awkward silence between her and Kairi.

"Good luck in your future, Kairi. I'm going to miss you." Yuffie walked off.

"Good luck to you too!" Kairi called after her, but Yuffie didn't hear her.

"SMILE!" Her mother snapped a picture of Kairi and Sora before they were ready. Namine and Selphie jumped into the next picture.

"Kairi, I have to tell you something." Sora took her outside. They went under a cherry blossom tree.

"I'M NOT THE FATHER!" He said happily, jumping up and down. Kairi's eyes widened. "Really? THANK GOODNESS!" She wrapped her arms around him. He laughed and hugged her back.

"Tifa apologized for everything. She said she was happy for you and me and will never bother us again. I saw her son, and it turns out that he looks nothing like me. He has black hair, and I don't, so I was pretty relieved to find this out. I waited until today to tell you because it was such great news." Kairi pulled him into a long, affectionate kiss.

"Promise me, Kairi… that we'll always be together, no matter what…" He whispered.

"For all eternity." She smiled at him.

Sora was right; High school was a difficult time for them all. Kairi was glad that she was able to overcome everything that happened to them. The memories, good or bad, would always live on inside her heart. Ten years down the road, it wouldn't matter if you were the most popular, the shyest, or the class clown. What mattered now…was who you were going to be in the real world.

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**A/N**: I can't believe it's over! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and liked my story… and I hope you like the sequel that I'm still thinking of ideas for… which might take a while for me to find a plot to. I enjoyed writing this story and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it!

**Sora**: You reached your goal!

**Me**: Huh?

**Sora**: You know, the goal about getting this story done before February.

**Me**: Oh! I forgot all about that…

**Kairi**: Well, you did it! And now you must finish a sequel before KH2 comes out at the end of March or else you'll never update if you have that game!

**Me**: Eh… okay… anyway… what's going to happen to them now? Will Kairi and Sora stay together? (That's a given) Does Kairi go off to college? What will happen with Namine and Selphie? I don't know either! Ja ne!


End file.
